Empathy
by RubyHair
Summary: Jim is 1/2 Veenan, an Empath & telekinetic. K/S starts at the academy & goes beyond, eventual MPREG in a way that makes biological sense. Based on challange from KS archive. Story is AU but will incorporate both movies.
1. Chapter 1  You've Gotta Be Kidding

**Disclaimer - I don't own Star Trek, not making a red cent here**

**My apologies but, there is a lot of the movie in this first chapter and the introduction of my Jim. There is also movie in the second chapter. I will say that similarities to the movie will end after the first couple chapters. Even when we get to Vulcan and Nero things will be different.**

**Very edited from the original first chapter that was posted on and Ksarchive. **

**To those who read it before: Constructive criticism was taken into account so there were dialog changes so that it's not as much the same as the movie, certain references to a bad part of Jim's life removed, all tense mistakes repaired, but the action remains basically the same. Thanks for the help making me a better writer. **

**A Thanks to all my loyal readers. I hope you like the changes and that they make it better. It's still a lot like the movie though. Let me know what you think of the changes.**

**Special THANKS to my Beta Trekkergurl for everything!**

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Chapter 1 - You've Gotta Be Kidding

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Jim was tired after a hard day finishing his neighbors car at Goremans garage where he worked. He decided to head to his favorite bar in Riverside Iowa. Most nights it was a quiet place. There were a dozen or so workers from the Riverside ship yards, hanging out after their shifts. All in all it was a normal evening. He looked out the window where he could see the magnificent ship being built in the distance and let his mind wander and he slipped into a light trance.

Jim didn't notice the fact that a load people had invaded his haven until the found himself battered by the emotions of the excited cadets. Ruth, the beautiful waitress, knew Jim well and brought him another pint of ale. They had dated for several months when he returned from Veenu, but he had not been able to form a bond with her. He sighed, smiled and thanked her for the brew. Jim licked his lips and strengthened his shields. The room slowly grew quiet, until Jim felt that he could relax.

He watched the people for a while and being a bit buzzed decided to flirt. Jim knew that he had two things going for him, charm and good looks, so maybe he could have some fun with these cadets. He noticed one particularly lovely cadet at the bar ordering a whole bunch of drinks. She had beautiful mahogany colored skin and dark eyes that sparkled in the light. Her long hair was set in a tail high on her head. He just had to flirt with her.

So Jim sauntered over and slipped up next to his friend J'Mul at the bar. "Are you drinking all of those by yourself?" Jim looked over at her.

J'Mul had seen him play this game before and was wondering to himself how this was going to work out. So he observed the exchange with interest.

The beautiful vision glanced at Jim, raised an eyebrow, huffed then added more to her list. "And a shot of Jack straight up."

Jim thought that a perfect time to try to buy her a drink. "Make that 2, her shot's on me."

"Her shot's on her, thanks but no thanks." She replied barely looking at him.

Jim was undeterred by her rebuff. "Ah, come on, don't you at least want to know my name before you completely reject me."

J'Mul looked between them and shook his head. He'd watched Jim play this game with men, women, human and alien, for over a year and seen him regularly get into fights because of flirting with the wrong person. He wondered to himself how this was going to turn out.

"No, I am perfectly fine without your name." The women snipped.

"You're right. You are fine without it. I'm Jim. Jim Kirk." He paused, waiting. "If you don't tell me your name I'm going to have to make one up."

"It's Uhura."

"Uhura, no way. That's the name I was going to make up for you."

J'Mul looked at Jim in disbelief at such a stupid line, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. It was the exact same line he used with Ruth.

Jim downed his shot of Jack and asked. "Uhura what?"

"Just Uhura." The beauty replied with disgust.

"They don't have last names on your world?"

"Uhura is my last name." She gave Jim one of those looks that said _'if looks could kill you would be dead right now'._

Even with his shields up, Jim still felt her emotions; a mixture of disgust and amusement. With the buzz he had going and the amusement of J'Mul, Joe the bartender and Ruth when she heard what he was doing, he kept pushing. "So they don't have first names on your world?"

Uhura just shook her head and thought '_will this guy give me a break!'_

Jim decided that it was time to step it up a notch so he took the conversation directly to her. "Excuse me J'Mul." He patted J'Mul on the shoulder as he moved around him to her.

He gave her a nice smile. "So you're a cadet, you're studying. What's your focus?"

"Xenolinguistics. You have no idea what that means." Uhura replied sharply, giving him a pointed look. Thinking she tripped him up.

"The study of alien languages. Morphology, phonology, syntax. It means you have a talented tongue." He said thinking, _'I bet I even know a language or two you don't honey.'_

She turned to look at him more closely and smiled evilly. "I'm impressed." Uhura looked him in the eyes for the first time. "For a moment there, I thought you were just a dumb hick who only had sex with farm animals."

_'Alright, two can play at this game.' _He thought. "Well, not only." He made sure his reply had swagger.

A big, hulking cadet came up to her trying to be protective. "This townie isn't bothering your, right." He tried his best to look intimidating. Little did he know that Jim Kirk wasn't easy to intimidate or that under most circumstances Jim could easily kick his ass.

"Beyond belief. But it's nothing I can't handle." Uhura replied turning back to the bar.

"You _might _be able to handle me. But I'm not so sure." Jim said in a sultry voice as he waggled his eyebrows and winked at her; in general being as suggestive as possible.

Obviously the big cadet thought it was part of his job to protect Uhura's honor, so he stuck his nose in further. "Hey, you better mind your manners."

Jim reached up and patted him on the shoulder. "Relax Cupcake, it was a joke."

At that point Cupcake got pissed and grabbed Jim by the shoulder and turned him around. "Hey farm boy, maybe you can't count, but there are four of us and only one of you."

Jim could feel the emotions of Cupcake and his friends. It had him beginning to itch for the fight that he could feel that they wanted.

With full knowledge that his next action would incite a fight and adrenalin coursing through his system Jim looked Cupcake in the eye. "So, get some more guys and then it'll be an even fight." Then to seal the deal he reached up and patted Cupcake on the cheek turning back to Uhura.

_'Here it comes.'_ Jim thought as Cupcake spun him around and clocked him in the jaw. Years ago Jim decided that whenever he got into a fight like this he was going to surround himself with the entire experience; so he totally dropped his shields. He reveled in the irate anger of Cupcake, and the fact that Uhura was upset that they are fighting about her. If he couldn't have sex, pain was the next best reminder for Jim that he was alive.

When Cupcake came around for a second hit Jim palmed him in the chest and sent him flying. One of the others attempted to hit him with a bottle but Jim got it first and hit him with it instead.

Not wanting to hurt anyone he decided he wouldn't use anymore martial arts. However, being as drunk as he was that was a mistake. He felt himself grabbed by one while the others hit him, '_cheap fuckers'_. He managed to twist out of that hold but found himself on his back on a table getting hit repeatedly in the face. In the background he heard Uhura yelling that he had had enough. Inwardly he laughed because at the moment testosterone is ruling and she was ignored.

Jim heard a loud whistle and an eerily familiar commanding voice "Outside. All of you. Now."

Fists stopped immediately and he heard the cadets reply stiffly, "Yes Sir!" Emotions immediately quieted as the room emptied.

Jim, his head still hanging off the end of the table looked up at the upside down face of Christopher Pike. "You whistle really loud, you know that?"

Pike helped Jim into a chair. "Well, well, well, Jim Kirk, it's been a long time. You've grown up since I saw you last."

"When was that Captain Pike?"

"I think you remember perfectly well Jim since you remembered my name without prompting."

"Yeah, I do." Jim looked down at the table. "Not a time in my life of which I am particularly proud. Nor do I particularly want to remember it."

Pike, tactfully changed the subject. "You held your own pretty well with four big guys."

"Ha! If I was sober I would've wiped the floor with them Chris. Since..." He took a drink. "What happened, I've studied various martial arts and have integrated them into a fighting style all my own. But, here I didn't want to hurt anyone, so I kept my feet on the ground and my hands in fists." Jim smiled, dabbing at the blood still leaking from his nose. "Well, except, I just couldn't resist a good palm hit to the chest on Cupcake that threw him across several tables." Jim laughed the little he can without causing his nose to start bleeding more heavily.

"Who?"

Jim stuck a piece of napkin in each nostril before pinching the top of his nose. "Massive guy, brown hair, what's left of it, I don't think he's 100% human."

"As, yes, Sam Giotto he's rather protective of his fellow cadets. If I recall he has some Belten blood and Belte has twice the gravity of Earth. He's going into security."

"How Apropos. He'll make a good security officer. Of course, he'll be even better when he can learn how to discern a joke from something serious." Jim pulled the tissues from his nose and was happy to find it was no longer bleeding.

"Look, Kirk, I know who you are." Pike stated flatly.

That caught Jim's interest, _'this should be interesting' _he thought. "You do? I really want to hear this. Who am I Captain Pike?"

"You are just as much your fathers son as you are your mothers. For my dissertation I was assigned the USS Kelvin. Something I admired about your dad, he didn't believe in no win scenarios." Pike explained.

"Seemed like he learned his lesson!" Jim snorted.

"You're here, aren't you? You know that instinct to leap without looking, that was in his nature too. And, in my opinion, it's something Starfleet has lost." Pike hoped that Jim would pick up where he was going with the conversation.

"Yeah, so what do you want with me? Why are you even talking to me, man? You know what I can do if I ever unleash, don't you think I'm a bit too dangerous for your precious Starfleet." Jim asked. His irises were glowing a pale blue, leaning over the table searching Pikes eyes. Jim was genuinely excited. He couldn't be sure if Pike knew how to read Veenan eyes; he really didn't want to give anything away, but he couldn't help the reaction of his body.

"Look Jim, all the counselors both Human and Veenan have given you the OK. Your aptitude tests are off the charts. So what is it? You like working in a garage, getting in bar fights and being the only genius level repeat offender in the Midwest?" Pike was very familiar with Veenan eyes, having been good friends with his parents. He could also read body language. So he was well aware that Jim was intrigued by what he was saying.

"Jim can you _really_ settle for a less than ordinary life? I mean, really, working in a garage with masters degrees in engineering and xenolinguistics? Don't you feel like you were meant for something better? Something special? Enlist in Starfleet."

Jim snorted a laugh. He'd been waiting for this line. He really need to see how serious Pike was about having him. "Enlist? Look Pike, be serious now, you've seen what I can do, you know my history, do you really think they would let me in?"

"Jim, if you're half the man your father was, Starfleet could use you. You can be an officer in four years. You can have your own ship in eight." Jim really didn't need to hear anymore, he was pretty convinced. But Pike wasn't finished. "You understand what the Federation is, don't you. It's important. It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada…"

Jim interrupted Pikes speech and tried to give him the eye of doom. He really needed to go home and contact his mother and he didn't want Pike to realize his level of interest. "Are we done?"

"I'm done. Riverside shipyard Shuttle for new recruits leaves tomorrow 0800." Pike stood and looked down at Kirk. "Now your father was captain of a starship for 12 minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mothers and yours. I dare you to do better." With that he turned left Jim with a lot to think about. There was a salt shaker on the table shaped like the Kelvin which Jim picked up and examined while he thought about all the years he had felt the call of the black.

However, Jim still felt conflicted. Starfleet, in many ways had always been a source of pain in his life, and yet it was one of the best ways for him to get out into the black and see the stars. He really, _really_ needed to talk to his mother.

As soon as he got in the door he put in a comm to her. Winona choose to remain in Starfleet after George died. She would stay home for a few months now and then but as soon as she had orders it was back into space. Throughout everything Winona and Jim maintained a very close relationship. Sure she had lapses in judgment: the time she left him & Sam alone with him alone with that neighbor Frank until her sister could come (by the time her sister arrived Sam was gone and both of her children had been raped); sending Jim to live with her sister on a colony that turned into a flat out clusterfuck. Neither of those things would have happened if she had been home for him and Sam. By the time they finally caught up with Sam he was married and studying science in his own right.

The comm unit finally beeped. He hit the button and his mothers face appeared, "Hey mom, I hope I didn't take you from anything important."

"No Jimmy. You know, nothing is more important to me than you are. It's good to hear from you. Something's up. It's written all over your face, along with the fact that you've been fighting again." Winona frowned.

"Yeah well, I didn't start it, but I sure enjoyed it." He laughed. "Some big cadet thought I was just some average homey. Ha, knocked his ass across several tables!

"While I was there I ran into Chris Pike. He challenged me to join Starfleet, even with the, well you know. I wanted to get your take on the whole thing. You know Chris." The entire time he was talking he continued cleaning up his face.

"Jimmy, I can tell you feel strongly about this, but I can't tell which way you feel. Colors aren't coming through on this monitor so I can't tell the color of your eyes. So, tell me, what is it that you truly desire? You used to want to go to space and see the stars. Is that what you still want?" Winona really wished that she was there for him at that moment. Her baby was making a life altering decision and she could only talk to him over a comm unit. She could see his irises were glowing but she couldn't tell if they were blue or green.

One of the reasons that she had brought her son back to Earth after they had finished on Veenu was so that he could be exposed to Starfleet. She knew that Jimmy had too big of a mind to be tied to a single planet. He needed the stars.

So Winona watched as Jim looked around the house, then back to her. She could tell he made his decision. There was a determination in his eyes she hadn't seen in way too long. "I want to go into the black mom. More than anything. You're right, it's something I've always wanted. The stars are like a sirens song to me, always have been. I guess that's why I've always been so restless." He broke into one of his Jim Kirk smiles that could light up the sun. "Well Mom, I guess the next time I talk to you it'll be from San Francisco. Thanks Mom."

"Jimmy, I'm only too happy to help, you know that. I love you."

"I love you too Mom. I'll call you as soon as I get settled in at the Academy." He kissed his hand and blew it to her. She did the same and they cut the transmission.

Jim checked the time. Just enough time left to take a shower and meditate for an hour before he had to head out to the shipyard to catch the shuttle.

**Please Review - Thanks, Thanks, Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2  The Arrival

Chapter 2 – Arrival

It was dawn on the Iowa plains and while Jim was heading toward the shipyards he stoped to daydream looking at the big, beauty they are building there. From what he has heard it is going to be the new Enterprise. Jim was very familiar with the escapades of the original Enterprise. He never admitted it to his mother but it was always his dream to one day captain a ship of that name himself.

Pike was not surprised that several hours after talking to him, Jim pulled up to the shuttle on a custom motorcycle. Pike heard one of the techs say "nice ride man." He watched Jim get off the bike and throw the guy the keys saying "it's all yours". He turned to Pike, putting on his cockiest self and brashly stated in no uncertain terms "four years, I'll do it in three" then turned and walked onto the shuttle.

All Pike could do was shake his head at the kids attitude. He liked it. If this kid can do what he thinks he can that attitude is deserved.

Jim walks into the shuttle smiling, not paying attention to the headspace and almost immediately hits his head on a beam. Ouch! Better watch my head, literally, ha. Oh, look who it is! As he passes Giotto and one of the others from the fight, he gives them a mock salute "at ease gentlemen". They give him one of those looks that could kill.

He finds himself a seat and starts to belt himself in when he spies Uhura looking at him "never did get that first name". She rolls her eyes not believing this guy just got on the shuttle with her and she gives him a 'give it up' smile.

Suddenly everyones attention is drawn to an argument between an older male cadet and a small female officer. Apparently he's afraid of flying and didn't want to be near the windows. He wanted to sit in the bathroom. But this women is one tough cookie and she backs him to a seat and she gets him to sit down.

He takes a seat next to Jim, looks at him and grouches "I may throw up on you".

Jim looks at him warily "I think these things are pretty safe".

"Don't pander to me kid. One tiny crack in the hull and our blood boils in 13 seconds. A solar flare might crop up and cook us in our seats. And wait till your sittin pretty with a case of Andorian shingles. See if your still so relaxed when your eyeballs are bleeding. Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but Starfleet operates in space" Jim retorts still watching warily not knowing what this guy is going to do next.

"Yeah, well, I got nowhere else to go. The ex-wife to the whole damn planet in the divorce. All I got left is my bones." He pulls out a flask, takes a sip and passes it to Jim.

Jim takes a sip and passes it back "Jim Kirk".

"McCoy. Leonard McCoy."

"So, Bones, you're a doctor? Gonna be a ships surgeon?" Jim asks.

"Bones, where the hell did that come from?" McCoy replies giving Jim a dark look.

Jim flashes the Jim Kirk smile "well you did say that all you had left was your bones, right?"

McCoy rubs his face with his hands, then runs them through his hair finally looking back at Jim. "Yeah, I said that. Guess that's how people get their nicknames." He takes another sip from the flask passing back to Jim, which he passes right back without drinking anything. "To answer your question, yeah, I'm gonna be a ships surgeon. What about you?"

"Command" Jim replies eliciting a snort from Uhura. He looks at her with a raised eyebrow "and is your problem"?

"You better learn to control yourself better if you're going to be a captain someday Jim Kirk." Uhura replies shaking her head.

He looks at her in confusion "wait a minute, I was only talking to you when your overprotective buddy over there, Cupcake, decided to start a fight. When someone starts punching me, I punch back. The four of them were actually very lucky I was drunk or I would've wiped the floor with them."

"Yeah, right. I'll believe that when I see it. Anyway, I just don't think you're cut out for command. I still think you're just a dumb hick."

"jIHtaH ra HoD ra qang lob." (I am your captain you will obey) Jim says to Uhura.

"Well you know some Klingon. And you enunciate it well. That's not easy. I'll give you one point." Uhura quips.

Jim chuckles "oh, so it's a points system now? How many points do I need to get that first name?"

Uhura shakes her head smiling, "more than you'll earn in a lifetime farm boy."

"Ves cran z dony fan" (I am not a farm boy) Jim replies in Veenan.

Uhura looks at him, "what language was that?" She's wondering if it's even a real language. He spoke it like it was one, but she doesn't trust him.

"Ha, a language the xenolinguistics student doesn't know, yet. Maybe if she's lucky she'll learn it at the academy. It's Veenan, I said I'm not a farm boy."

Uhura is incredulous. Veenan is a rare language "how did a farm boy from Iowa learn a rare language like Veenan?"

"My mother is Veenu" Jim replies, "so I guess that makes me half." He smiles.

"Well I suppose that makes sense then" she nods smiling thinking maybe he's really telling the truth.

McCoy turns to Jim "Veenans are empaths, right?"

"Yeah, I'm an empath. I can sense emotions if I let my shields down. I have very strong shields. In a crowd like this I keep 'em buttoned up tight. I am not able to project my emotions onto others like some can."

Uhura who had been thinking pipes in, "wait, so you really weren't trying to take me home last night were you? Veenans don't do casual sex."

"Bingo. You're right my dear. You may not know the language but at least you know something about us. There needs to be an empathic connection between the two parties or else we just don't work. We meaning Veenans. That would also apply to having sex with farm animals" Jim laughs.

McCoy looks at him out of the corner of his eye, "farm animals?"

"Ask her" Jim points at Uhura who says "you had to be there." The look at each other and crack up laughing.

McCoy looks at the two of them and shakes his head. He takes another sip from his flask, or tries to. He realizes it's empty, but he takes a look inside just to be sure. He smacks Jim on the shoulder, "hey, you drank too much".

"Don't blame me dude. There wasn't much in it the first time you passed it to me. I barely took a sip. The second time you passed it to me I passed it right back without even taking a drink. You're the lush here Doc." Jim blinks a couple of times trying to get McCoy to look into his eyes to see he is being honest.

"Did you just bat your eyelashes at me kid?" McCoy asks taken aback.

Jim gives him a little laugh, "no just trying to get you to look into my eyes and see that I'm being earnest."

"Not some kind of Veenan hokus pokus?" McCoy asks angrily.

"Did he really say that? Did I hear him say that? Bones I can't believe you just said that. That was so xenophobic man. Wow. No, I already told you I can't project. But even if I could I wouldn't. That's a real violation of the other persons mind Bones. Do you have any idea of the codes of conduct we empathic and telepathic species hold ourselves to in order to be members of the Federation? Species like us, the Deltans, the Betazoids, the Vulcans. Not cool man, not cool. You must realize that sometimes people just want you to look you in the eyes so that you can tell they are being sincere. That was all." Kirk shakes his head. "Bones you'll have to do better to be CMO of a starship. You've got to be fair to everyone."

There was a group watching the exchange eager to see how the two men would handle the situation. McCoy sputtered. He was at a loss as to what to say. Jim could read his body language like a book. "It's ok, Bones, you'll get it. Mistakes are mistakes. We all make 'em. Cool?" Jim gives McCoy one of his smiles and offers his hand. They shake and McCoy relaxes.

"This is Captain Pike. Entering San Francisco airspace. Touchdown in 5 minutes."

Pike decided to take a person interest in Jims development, so he signed on as his advisor. While planning his command track, which Jim insisted he was going to complete in three years, Pike decided that he should take one or two courses per semester outside of his direct tract to round out his education in all fields.

He put Jim through a series of tests. They did a really good job at showing his strengths. His weakness, if you could call it that, was in xenobiology. Jim tested well and had strong interests in both languages and engineering. Pike placed him in a second year xenolinguistics class with communications majors with one of his favorite graduates, Spock. Since Jim tested so well in engineering Pike was able to place him in an advanced class for engineering majors where they will be building impulse engines with the Caldorian, F'rink. They would both be good challenges for Jim.

When Jim got into his room after his meeting with Pike he was feeling great. He didn't care if anyone was there, as soon as he opens the door he crows, "Hi Honey, I'm home" in his best Ricky Ricardo voice. He's greeted with the sound of the shower running. While he's waiting for his new room mate to come out of the shower he checks his schedule. _Hmm__a__Vulcan__for__xenoliguistics__. __I__wonder__if__he__'__ll__teach__us__any__in__class__. __Impulse__engine__construction__, __now__that__should__be__lots__of__fun__!_

Leonard McCoy steps out of the bathroom naked interrupting Jims train of thought. "Hey Bones, I was wondering who my room mate was, guess it's you!"

McCoy is shocked. His mouth drops open, as he quickly grabs a towel wrapping it around his waist. "Kirk! What the hell are you doing here? I asked for a private room because I don't want to be killing my room mate with my bizarre hours."

"It was my room first so, I could ask you the same thing. You can try to get a private room if you want, but I don't think it'll do you any good. I don't think you can get a private room until your third year. Besides you won't bother me, if I don't bother you. I have nightmares sometimes, so it might be good that you won't always be here at night. I tried to get a private room too. That's how I know about the third year thing."

McCoy held up a finger and disappeared into the left bedroom. Several minutes later he came out dressed in his red cadet uniform, which Kirk was already wearing. "I didn't see anything in either of the bedrooms when I got here so I didn't think anyone was here. It was really a surprise to see you when I got out of the shower."

Jim realizes this is an apology of the McCoy variety "we're good Bones. Hey you'll never guess who my advisor is." McCoy shakes his head. "Pike! We worked out my classes for the semester." He waves his schedule in the air. "So what took you so long to get here."

"I had to check in with the Chief of Staff at the hospital to let him know I'm here. I've known Greg Chapel since med school. It was Greg and his daughter Christine who convinced me to come here instead of going to Mississippi and trying to start my own practice. He told me I'd have a home here. I'm sure you can tell I'm not the happiest person thinking about working in space, but here I am." McCoy looks at Jim who is fidgeting, "son, you look like your ready to come out of your skin. Why don't you go for a walk or something. Hey are you like this often?"

"Yeah, if I'm not mentally engaged I've got lots of nervous energy. Sometimes I go workout or find someone to fight with. Why?" Jim asks.

"I think you should consider taking up running. It's somewhat easier on your body than fighting." McCoy replies.

Jim realizes he needs all kinds of stuff, since all he came with was what he was wearing. So, he gives McCoy a nod "see you later Bones, I think I'm going shopping".

"Don't break the bank and spend all the credits in your account all at once." McCoy waves at Jim as he disappears out the door.


	3. Chapter 3 Who is that Handsome Man?

Chapter 3 - Who is that Handsome Man?

It was time for his last class of the day. The others had been appropriately boring, considering what they were. Was anyone really going to get excited about Interspecies Ethics or Starfleet Protocols for Diplomats? That last one nearly put him to sleep. He hoped this would be more interesting, although he had to wonder if the Vulcan professor was going to be all bland and monotone. If he was this will really put him to sleep. Just in case Jim decided to sit in the back of the class. He could sleep with his head up, but his eyes kind of glaze over. He saw Uhura enter the class and take a seat in the front row. She gave him a nod which he returned with a smile.

When the instructor entered the class Jim was astounded by his beauty. He had never seen another individual humanoid that was so incredibly handsome in his entire life. His breath caught in his throat; his heart rate increased; he felt his blood moving to his penis. Jim jumps. Spock looks at him, eyebrow raised, their eyes meet, Jim feels a shock. He sits and immediately looks at his shoes.

_What the fuck just happened? I do not get hard ons from just looking at people. Shit, what was that jolt when our eyes met. Shields up!_

Jim tries to pay attention as the Commander has the rest of the class say something in a language that is not native to them. He can't. All Jim can pay attention to is Commander Spock himself. When it's Uhuras turn she chooses Romulan to be impressive. Jim is certain her choice is correct by the way the Commander looks at her. By the time it gets back to Jim he hasn't come up with anything, because he hasn't really been thinking about anything except how Spock moves, his ass, his lips, his immaculate hair, how he looks in that black uniform. So he decides he'll be honest. His Klingon answer garners giggles from the girls in the class "IH loD el pa yab chlm" (Handsome man enter room mind empty). Spock raises an eyebrow at him, again Jim feels a pull in his mind. He clamps down on his shields even harder.

When class is dismissed the only students to remain behind are Uhura and Kirk. It seems they are both interested in learning Vulcan which is not going to be part of the class. Uhura because her previous instruction in Vulcan was inadequate. Spock has no question that he will tutor Ms. Uhura as she will be working in communications. However he questions Kirk's motives especially after that opening comment. Spock dismisses Uhura and asks Kirk "What, precisely is your motive for wanting to learn Vulcan cadet Kirk? You are in the command track."

Kirk looks him in the eye and responds "I've always been fascinated by languages. Vulcan was one I never thought I'd have the chance to learn. I'm the kind of guy who likes to grab the bull by the horns when the opportunity presents itself."

"There is no bull here to grab by the horns" Spock replies scrunching his brow.

Jim laughs "no, no Commander, it means that when I want something and the opportunity presents itself, I go and get it. I really do want to learn Vulcan." Knowing that Vulcans are touch telepaths, Jim lowers his shields a little and lightly grazes the fingers of his left hand on Spocks right arm so he can sense Jims sincerity.

Spock looks down at the spot where Jims hand grazed his arm. He looks up into Jims eyes and nods "I understand now Cadet Kirk, I will tutor you along with Cadet Uhura". As Spock gathers his books to leave he finds himself contemplating Kirks eyes. He has never seen eyes quite that color of blue before and he finds them fascinating.

Jim is feeling exhilarated by the fact that he is going to get tutoring in Vulcan. But he really needs to meditate on what happened to him when he first saw Commander Spock. As he walks in the door of the apartment he does his usual I Love Lucy greeting "Hi Honey, I'm home" not really caring if McCoy is in or not.

"What the hell makes you so damn happy?" McCoy grouches over the padd he was studying, giving Kirk the evil eye.

"Days over, time to rest." He takes a deep breath and relaxes a bit. Actually, I really need to go meditate for a while." Jim heads into the kitchen for a bite to eat from the replicator. "At least after some food."

Looking surprised McCoy croaks out "you meditate"?

"Yeah. You sound so incredulous! Like it's absolutely the last thing in the world you would expect me to do." Jim turns giving him a look of rebuke, shaking his head. "Bones, I'm an empath living in a in a big city full of people with strong emotions. And it's not like I don't have my own. Until two days ago I lived in Iowa on a farm, alone, except for the times when my mother was home. Of course I have to meditate every day to quiet my mind and reinforce my shields. There are very few places where I wouldn't need to do that all the time. Maybe Veenu, Vulcan, Betazed, I don't know. Someplace where people know how to keep their minds quiet, or like Vulcan where they keep their emotions hidden."

"What do you mean hidden? Vulcans don't have any emotions." McCoy replies.

Jim chuckles, "Bones, that's only what they want people to believe. Funny that most people fall for it too. But all you have to do is read their history. They have emotions; very strong emotions. They just keep them buried. You can't obliterate them. I've studied some of their history. Before the time of Surak they allowed their emotions to rule them. It was a very violent period in their history. Well, you know how history is always written by the victors of a conflict. According to them, embracing logic saved them from themselves. So they actually bury their emotions. Well, they say they control their emotions. Or, it could be maybe they only repress them and someday there'll just be this huge explosion of Vulcan emotions. Boom!" As he says boom Jim makes the gesture of things flying apart with his hands and he laughs diabolically.

"Go to your room Jim" McCoy admonishes. Jim laughs and disappears into his room.

The next day Jim had his other class that wasn't in his major, Impulse Engine Design and Construction. Jim always liked engineering. He met this really crazy Scotsman, Montgomery Scott. He had the most outrageous ideas, like he could teleport objects onto starships traveling at warp speed. What a wild man! Jim liked him immediately. Scotty was a true engineer. They decided to be partners and by the end of the first day had a small impulse engine half way torn down.

"Hey Jimmy, why don we head out for a wee bit to drink?"

"Alright Scotty, a small drink. I suppose you know the places around here?"

"Aye, tis my second year. Got all the good places mapped out last year." Scotty nudges Jim with an elbow and cocks his head in the direction they will be going. They walk in companionable silence until they reach a place five blocks off campus on a side street called Isaacs Pub.

It has one of those old fashioned wooden signs hanging out front, over the sidewalk of a beer mug; antique neon signs in the windows. Inside Isaacs is surprisingly clean for being this close to the rowdies on campus. Scotty picks a booth. Jim joins him after checking out some of the décor. Old metal beer signs abound inside the place. Many from the 20th & 21st centuries. Beers no one even remembers being brewed anymore, like Schlitz, Fitger's, Old Union Lager, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Miller Light, Coors Light. Then there were the 47 different Budweiser signs of all different sizes from over the years. Best of all for Jim was that the signs were all in really great shape. "Scotty this place is really cool" Jim observes as he sits down "I love all the old beer signs".

The waitress comes over to take their order. "Patrice, wonderful to see ye agin lass. I'll have a Guiness and a shot of double malt."

Patrice turns her gaze to Jim. "I'll have a pint of your best dark brew on tap, whatever it is. And can I get a cheeseburger with fries?"

"Sure thing. Any food for you Scotty?" Patrice inquires.

"Aye, remember those big ham samwiches you made me last year?" Patrice nods. "I'll take one of those with extra pickles, Thanks Lass."

As Patrice leaves to put in their order Scotty spies his friend Hikaru Sulu "Ey Sulu" and he waves.

Jim stands. "Jim Kirk, Hikaru Sulu" they shake hands "Sulu pilots planes, helicopters and shuttles. Now he's here to learn to pilot starships. Jimmy is here to learn to be a captain." Scotty finishes giving them the basic low down on each other.

Patrice arrives with Jim & Scotty's drinks. Sulu gives her his order and she heads off.

"So, do you prefer Hikaru or Sulu" Jim queries.

"Actually, Hikaru, Karu or Sulu are all fine. My parents and closest friends call me Karu."

"Ok, Karu, what do you do besides pilot?" Jim enquires.

"I surf, wind surf, para-glide and fence. You?"

"I fight. Almost always more than one person. I've studied several human and non-human martial arts, albeit informally, and I've blended them into my own style. I'd like to try myself one on one against one of the stronger races. So far I've only fought humans and Orions from G1 planets. Well, come to think of it, Pike did say that Cupcake was part Beltan."

Jim is interrupted by simultaneous "Who?"'s from both Scotty and Sulu.

"Cupcake is the name I gave to a cadet who was giving me a hard time because, this stupid Iowa hick had the audacity to flirt with a pretty cadet. I think Pike said his name was Sam Giotto. Sounds like a typical Italian name, but Pike said he had some Beltan blood in there somewhere. If I recall correctly Beltus 3 is a G2 planet, which would explain why the dude was so big. Some Orions are stronger depending on their planet of origin. Vulcans are stronger by 3x's, so I'd love to spar with a Vulcan. Klingons are definitely stronger, although I don't think it's because their planet had higher gravity. However, I don't think I'll find any Klingons walking around the Academy" he laughs. The others join him laughing at the thought of Klingons hanging around the Academy grounds.

Sulu looks at Jim, excited "how many have you fought all at once?"

"I've taken down up to eight in one fight. Try to throw in too many at one time and it gets too confusing. There could always be a situation where you are overrun as an individual, but no one could hope to cope with that."

"But if you could take down that many guys, surely you could take on one Vulcan!" Sulu says with enthusiasm.

"Doesn't work that way, my friend. One person, with the strength of three hitting you is going to have a lot more power than three people hitting you at the same time in the same place." Jim reaches out and lays a hand on Sulu's arm, like his uncle would, and gives him a little smile. Hikaru realizes he likes this guy.

One of Jims goals is to constantly improve his skill set and gain new ones "Hey Karu, I have a proposition for you". Sulu looks at Jim expectantly. "Why don't we do an exchange? You teach me to fence, I'll teach you various fighting techniques." Jim smiles.

"Sounds like a plan, man" Sulu replies offering Jim his hand. They shake. Suddenly Sulu jumps up, "Excuse me, I was meeting a friend here and he just came in."

Both heads at the table watch as Sulu goes to this blond, curly haired young kid who he brings to the table. Of course, Jim and Scotty make quick conversation and like they weren't watching.

Sulu slides back into his seat next to Scotty, the new guy sits next to Jim. "Guys, this is my friend Pavel Chekhov. Pavel, this is Scotty & Jim." As Sulu introduces them Jim gets a really good look at the kid and realizes he can't be more than 15. "Pavel is a mathematical genius. No one could keep up with him in Russia, he was already doing PhD work, so they figured he had nowhere to go but up. Literally! So they shipped him over here to Starfleet Academy."

Patrice notices the new person at the table and comes over for the order. "I vill haf a Pepsi and a cheese burger, please. Sank you."

Jim looks a Pavel and inquires "So Pavel, how old are you anyway. No offense but you look really young."

"I am not offended. Currently I am 14 years old. But I vill be 15 soon. Zey put me in second year classes. I stay vith Karu, zat is how ve met."

Sulu looks at the others who are giving him a knowing look. "Get that shit out of your heads guys. Pavel is young and innocent. Starfleet asked if I would take care of him, they can't have someone this young and cute running around here with all these sharks unescorted, can we? He could get in way too much trouble. We've only been here for a few days and I already don't like the ways some of the Orions, both female and male are looking at him. It's like they think he's a sacrificial lamb or something. Gives me the creeps."

Jim nods, thinking what it would mean if he felt that protective of someone else. It certainly wouldn't be platonic and innocent. But, he reminded himself, he wasn't fully human either, they were. He had different instincts. Watching the two he could feel something from Pavel; it felt kind of like hero worship. Jim put his head in his hands. _God, I need to meditate. And I really need to talk to Mom about yesterday, that was just weird_.

"Hey guys, I've gotta go." Jim, who had only finished half his burger, almost jumps. "Sorry. I'm just not used to being around this many people. Just left Iowa less than a week ago. Hardly anyone there compared to here in San Francisco." He shrugs looking embarrassed and threw some credits on the table, excusing himself. Starfleet academy certainly was going to be a different world for him.

Jim excused himself and left Isaacs heading back to his housing apartment deep in thought.


	4. Chapter 4 Hoshi Sato

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Chapter 4 - Hoshi Sato

It was two AM San Francisco time when the call came back from Winona. Luckily it was one of those nights McCoy was working, so he wasn't awakened by the comm unit beeping. Jim got up from his meditation. He had been unable to sleep.

"Hi Mom." He places his index and middle fingers of his right hand on his lips, kisses them, then touches them to his forehead in the Veenan greeting of a child to a distant parent.

Winona touches the same to fingers to her lips then brings them to her heart, "Hi Jimmy. You look like you were meditating. Good. How're you making out in the city? I know it can't be easy."

"Gee Mom, you have the knack of getting right to the heart of the matter." He chuckles, "but there's more to it than that. I have to say it's weird being around so many people and having to keep my shields up so tight all the time. Last time I was around this many people was on Veenu. But there I didn't have to worry about it because people know how to keep their minds quiet. Here everyone just bleeds emotion. I meditated for two hours when I first got home, then I went to bed and tried to sleep. It was useless. So I went back to meditating until you commed back." Jim looks around for a minute thinking of how to broach the subject of what happened when he first saw Commander Spock.

"I know it's hard Jimmy. For the past five years you've been in Riverside. Now, while you where there you got in trouble there because you were bored to tears, but it was a nice quiet place for an empath as strong as you. All of those things were as the Shanquat (healers of the mind) on Veenu said would come to pass if we came back to Earth after they brought you back to us.

"A few days ago you were living on a farm outside of a town of several thousand and now you are in a city of millions. Plus you are in groups with others your age. I know that you're no social butterfly. And, I know with that pretty face of yours that there are going to be both girls and boys who are going to want to be with you. Some may even become jealous of your looks and spread rumors about you. These are things some humans do that you've been sheltered from, so don't let them hurt you.

"Ah, my dearest one, I wish I could be there for you right now. You really need someone who understands you." Winona smiles sadly at her son and reaches out a hand towards him.

"Mom, something, different, happened in one of my classes. Nothing like this ever happened to me before. It surprised me and frankly it scared me." Jim details his reactions on initially seeing Commander Spock, and his fear that he is spontaneously developing a bond with him.

"Well, I can't say for sure what happened. What I do know is that it is very, very rare for our people to spontaneously form an empathic bond with another. Only you or a Shanquat can tell for sure. But Jimmy, these bonds are never one sided, remember that. If you do form a spontaneous bond with this man, it would not be only you being drawn in; he would feel it also. However, I wouldn't worry. Thoughts of spontaneous bondings are things for romantic poetry. I don't recall any happening in real life.

"Look, Jimmy, you really need to sleep. Meditation is wonderful, but it is no substitution for real sleep. You know should be getting at least five hours sleep a night son."

"I know Mom. I'll get used to being around all the noise. It'll be a while before I'm truly comfortable here. But I'll get with the program. I haven't gotten this far without the ability to adapt. Thanks Mom. I love you."

"I love you too Jimmy. Call again soon." They do their greetings at the same time then Winona cuts the channel. Jim goes to bed and finds that speaking with his mother helped ease his mind and he is finally able to get some sleep.

During their second xenolinguistics class Commander Spock wanted each person in the class to repeat a specific phrase in a language, preferably their own, non-standard native language. The phrase he wanted each of them to repeat was "I am pleased to great you in my native tongue". He wanted everyone to hear the differences between the languages and how many languages cannot provide exact translations. The languages did not have to be non-native to Earth, just non-standard.

There were four versions of Spanish, one French, one Fin, one Chinese, one Korean, two Andorian each did a different region, one Tellerite, then Uhura and Jim.

Uhura translated as exactly as she could in Swahili "Mimi tafdhali ili na ninyi katika angnu safi lugha". (I please to have you in my pure tongue/language.)

As did Jim "Ves nosha do merga vi ves lidin shoma". (I pleased to great you I home village tongue.)

After going around the class with this exercise Commander Spock spoke of the of missions of the first Enterprise and Hoshi Sato's work in developing the Universal Translator. Hoshi Sato was a hero to the Veenan people because she prevented a very serious misunderstanding at first contact with the Enterprise. Because of this her memory should be a good one, but it wasn't for Jim. Unconsciously he sunk down in his seat and frowned.

Jim didn't move when the rest of the class left. He was so lost in dark memories that he didn't even realize class was over. Commander Spock walked over to him "Cadet Kirk are you alright"? Jim didn't hear him, didn't even know he was there. Spock reached out and touched his arm, being careful to avoid skin to skin contact, however, a profound sense of sadness hit him anyway. Jim jumped at the contact "Sorry Commander, where were we?"

"Class is complete for the day Cadet Kirk. You, however, seem troubled. There are 1.53 hours before tutoring, would you like to come to my office, we can get something to eat and talk while we await Cadet Uhura's arrival." Spock is curious as to why the Cadet sunk into himself at the mention of Hoshi Sato.

"Sure, sounds nice." They started walking towards Spocks office. "So, what did you pick up when you touched me?" Jim knows that he had to detect something, even through his shirt.

Spock looks at him with his right eyebrow raised. "Only that you are distressed."

"Hoshi Sato was a very important person to the Veenan people. If it wasn't for her remarkable ability with languages and her work with the universal translator Veenu would never have joined the Federation. Captain Archer almost caused an enormous misunderstanding that would have caused my people to put the Federation in the same category as the Xindi. If it wasn't for Hoshi's work, I would never have been born." Jim looked up at Spock. His eyes were glowing slightly greenish. "Do you know how she died Commander?"

"I do not know the details, only that she died on Tarsus IV during the massacre." Spock eyes Jim and can see that his eyes have become brighter and that they now contain unshed tears. They arrived at Spocks office and he ushers Jim inside closing the door behind them.

"At 107 years old, Kodos the Executioner decided that she'd lived too long and that the tiny amount of food she ate was a threat to the 'Chosen', so he had her hung. It was a specific message to the Veenan 'mind freaks' as he called us. All because she lived with us. The message was that we were all going to die, horribly." While Jim is relaying this the tears that were in his eyes are now rolling freely down his cheeks.

Spock wants to know more of this Cadet. He could see that the cadet's eyes were glowing green. Spock had made it a point to study the available information on other species with special abilities, and he knew that if a Veena had green glowing eyes it meant distress of some kind. He feels some unease asking "Cadet Kirk, you said we and us. Were you speaking metaphorically?" He senses a connection to this cadet he has only met two days ago and he is curious. The fact that Kirk is distressed is causing him concern.

Jim looks Spock in the eyes. He could sense the Vulcans unease with the question. He could also sense a genuine concern. So, he decides to open up a little. Jim knew that, unlike a human, a Vulcan would not go around telling everyone. Something he told Spock in confidence would stay with Spock. "From experience Commander. I was there. I was one of the nine Veenan children to get out alive. It is not a time in my life particularly wish to recall."

Spock realizes that Kirk just told him something intensely private and is amazed. He is also aware that there is a great deal more behind what he just told him. Many layers. This one has many, many layers. He is certainly a puzzle I would not mind piecing together.

In a blatant attempt to change the subject, Jim points over Spocks shoulder "hey, is that a 3D chess set right there behind you Commander?"

"Indeed. Do you play?" Spock would love to find a worthy opponent.

"I've been wanting to play 3D chess against a live opponent for a long time. Those computer games you guys have made are ridiculously easy to beat."

At that comment Spock looks at Jim askance. Those computer games should be very difficult. Spock notices that Jims eyes have returned to their natural blue. "First we should eat."

Spock observes that although there are many meat containing items available through the replicator, Jim picks out vegetarian lasagna. Spock chooses a salad and bowl of soup for himself.

When Jim won the first game quickly using very unconventional tactics, Spock found himself further intrigued by the blond. "Cadet Kirk, you play a very unconventional game." Spock looks at Jim with his right brow raised and his head cocked.

"Is that a complement Commander?" Jim asks playfully, smiling, then he adds in a deeper voice trying to imitate Spocks "No Cadet, it is merely a statement of fact." Both of Spocks eyebrows hit his hairline. He switches back to his normal voice "don't get mad, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery".

"It was, in fact, both a statement of fact and a complement Cadet Kirk." Spock replies. "Shall we have a rematch?"

They were just setting up for a fourth game when Uhura arrived. They had obviously been playing because they were putting the pieces back on the board. She looks at Jim, "how long have you been here?" acid dripping from her voice.

Jim looks at her both surprised and hurt. Looking at the interchange between the two Spock decides it's best for him to reply "I brought him here after class Cadet Uhura. There was some information of a personal nature which we needed to discuss. Once that was complete we took advantage of the remaining time for a meal and to play chess while we awaited your arrival."

"Information of a personal nature" she says with a huff.

With that comment Jim feels the need to say something himself "Uhura, did you ever have a personal hero? One of mine was Hoshi Sato. Talking about her in class made me think about how she died." Jim closes his eyes and all he can see behind his lids is the husk of her ancient body swinging from the tree branch as it blows in the wind. His eyes pop open "I doubt you'd understand".

Uhura gets ready to respond but Spock holds up a hand "Kaiidth". They both look at him expectantly. "That is your first word in Vulcan. It means what is, is. You are both here for private tutoring sessions. You will not bicker during these sessions or there will be no more sessions. Am I understood!"

"Yes Sir" they chorus.

After his students left Spock sat back in his chair, hands steepled unconsciously under his chin, thinking about his students. It was going to be an intriguing semester. He could tell immediately they were both outstanding students of well above average intelligence. One of Cadet Uhuras strengths was her perfect and precise pronunciation. Cadet Kirks strength was in his ability to put things together quickly without assistance. Perfect qualities for the respective professions for which they are training. Their natural desire to compete with each other would only drive them to do better. He would just have to do his best to make sure they kept it friendly.

And of course, there was the added mystery of Cadet Kirk. He was the first Veena Spock had the opportunity to meet. Like Spock himself he was a hybrid with a human. Spock could not help but wonder if that made Kirk outcast in Veenan society like it made himself outcast in Vulcan society. Highly unlikely from what he knew of Veenans. They truly followed the Vulcan principals of IDIC, unlike many of the Vulcans themselves.

Jim was feeling rather smug as he walked back his apartment with Bones. He had thrown both Spock & Uhura for a loop when he had asked the word for universe, then came up with the sentence 'etek dungi gal-tor stukhtra' (we will see universe). Spock offered up some suggestions to make it a better sentence but was told him he was impressed that he even tried to make a sentence. Uhura had also seemed impressed. That really surprised him.

When Jim enters the apartment he's quiet, so McCoy is taken by surprise. "What, no inane greeting from some 20th century sit-com? You ok, Jimmy?"

"I'm great Bones! I was just doin' some thinking. Ok, if it'll make you happy, 'hi Lucy I'm home' or would you prefer Edith Bunker?" with which Jim changes his voice so he can imitate Edith. He sits next to McCoy throws an arm across his shoulder and says "Hi Archie. Are you OK, you look like you need a doctor."

They both laugh. "Jimmy, you watched way too much 20th century TV when you were growing up. And, by the way, your impersonations are marginal, at best. Good thing you're not planning on going into stand up comedy for a living." They both laugh even harder.

"Living in the middle of butt fuck nowhere I had to figure something out to keep myself from getting too bored. When I get bored, well, let's just say, it's not really a good thing. I tend to do stupid shit, like go start fights then spend the night in jail. Modern TV sucks but I found some of the older stuff was really good. There were a couple of really good science fiction shows around the turn of the 20th, 21st century that I really liked. Maybe I'll start quoting them next. But I'll have to search my memory for good quotes for coming home and stuff 'cause they were both pretty serious fights for humanity. Although Babylon 5 did have it's funny moments mixed in." Jim was rambling, lost in his own thoughts. McCoy didn't mind, he was learning about his room mate.

"I've read a lot of science fiction as well. My dad had a large collection of real books. Next time I go home I think I'll bring some back with me. From those books, I found I just love the feel of real books in my hands. Reading e-books just aren't as satisfying as turning real paper pages.

"You know, it would be so cool if those writers were around today to see what we're doing with real science. I can't imagine what some of the older sci-fi writers would think, like Jules Verne or H. G. Wells who were both born in the middle of the 19th century. Can you imagine a hollow Earth with dinosaurs and sunshine inside? Or a time machine that you could just set the numbers of the date you wanted to go to and away you would go? Too cool." Jim went on for an entire hour about his beloved science fiction books, TV shows and authors.

Finally McCoy decided that if he didn't stop him he would keep going all night. "Jimmy, I hate to break this up, but it's 2130 and I've got early shift at the hospital, so I've gotta hit the sack. But I really enjoyed our little talk."

"Wow Bones, I didn't realize it was that late. Thanks for stopping me. I can get motor mouth sometimes when I'm talking about something I like and to me science fiction is a fascinating as real science. You know that is where a lot of people have gotten their ideas, right?" McCoy nods. Jim smiles "night Bones". With that he heads into his room to meditate, then sleep.


	5. Chapter 5 Of Poker and Fighting

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Star Trek and make no money from this story. Geez Louise, if I owned Star Trek I'd be writing REAL stories for it, not Fanfiction stories! Well, except maybe slash stories.**

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**Special thanks to my wonderful Beta T'Arrah who did a great job editing this chapter.**

**This chapter is all character development and takes place in one evening. I promise the next chapter will move faster.**

Chapter 5 - Of Poker and Fighting

The room was quiet except the occasional click/clack of poker chips at the round table set up in small space between the living room sofa, the tiny kitchen which only had a stand-up counter, and the bedroom men were sitting on folding chairs watching young Pavel Chekov fiddling with his chips,which happened to be the largest individual pile.

"Pavel, are you going to make a bet or are you going to sit there and play with your chips?" Comes out of Jim's mouth as a whispered growl. Everyone is tense because the pot contains over 1200 credits.

"I vill see you and raise you feefty credits." He throws in his chips and looks around the table with his cute, now 15 year old grin.

"Too rich for my blood." Jim folds, he's down 500 credits for the hand, his pile is getting pretty pitiful. Good thing they are playing with fake credits and they start fresh each game! His chips, his rules, otherwise they'd be playing for coffee sticks.

The kid is a genius, no matter what he does. He's absolutely amazing. Mom sent me the table and box of chips saying she thought this would be a fun way for me to use to practice reading the subtitles of human body language. Ha. No tells, not one. I should stick with chess with Spock, he's easier to read than this group. I wonder if other Vulcan's would be as easy. Twitch, frown, do something, somebody, sometime. Shit.

Sulu and Scotty are still in the hand. Sulu throws his cards on the table, "I'm with Jim ."

Scotty looks at Chekov, then his cards. "Jimmy pour me a shot". Jim pours Scotty a shot of vodka, their chosen poison for the evening, which he promptly throws back resuming staring at Chekov. "I'll see ye." He throws another 50 credit chip onto the pile. Chekov lays down his cards, a 10 high straight flush, the same grin on his face he's been wearing all evening. Scotty throws down his cards in disgust. "Damn I canna believe it." Everyone looks at Scotty's cards, he had four kings.

Pavel jumps up all excited "я победил снова" (I won again)! Scotty and Jim look at him sideways while Sulu shakes his head.

Before Chekov can start raking in his winnings Sulu breaks in "alright guys, it's 2345. According to Starfleet, if Pavel isn't in bed by the witching hour he'll turn into a pumpkin." They all laugh and Chekov turns beet red and ducks his head. Jim can sense that all he wants to do is melt into the background and disappear in embarrassment. He is not happy about being the youngest cadet in Starfleet history. Jim understands about being the odd man out. He wants to go over and ruffle the kids curly hair, but he refrains, as he has for these past two weeks.

"Night guys." Jim says as he watches the pair walk out the door.

"Nigh lads." Echoes Scotty who pours two shots passing one to Jim. Jim looks at the bottle and realizes that the vast majority of all that vodka went down Scotty's gullet.

"Tha'young la's a genius Jimmy. How's ze do it all the time?"

"Math Scotty, math. The kid is math. I swear he eats, breaths, sleeps and likely dreams equations. He has some really interesting theories of his own. You really should get together with him. He will probably be able to help you out with that crazy theory of yours about trans-warp beaming. " Jim watches his friend, knowing he is very intoxicated.

"Aye, I'll see wha' he has to say." Scotty pours another shot and downs it. "Well Jimmy, I thin' I be turnin in for the nigh'."

"You gonna be alright to get back to your room?" Jim asks as Scotty gets up shakily and grabs his arm. "Good thing it's Saturday night and there aren't any classes tomorrow 'cause I think you had a bit too much of that vodka. I'm gonna walk you home just to make sure you get there ok."

To get to Scotty's apartment they have to circumnavigate all of the dorm buildings on the campus to an older section of buildings that had only recently been renovated. Once out into the open Jim noticed that Scotty seemed to be walking just fine. They make it without any problems. On the way back to his room Jim takes a more scenic route passing behind the dorms through the woods. As he descends into a shallow dell he senses someone following him. He doesn't think anything of it since there are quite a few students at the academy, until the anger hits him. Not anger, hate and it's directed specifically at him. He opens his shields enough to see if he can recognize the person who hates him as he continues walking.

_Fuck me,it's Cupcake. What did I do to make him dislike me so much, all I did was flirt with Uhura._

Jim stops and spins very dramatically and in a voice like silk he says, "hey Cupcake,I know it's you. What is it you want? You want a piece of me? Come on, come and get it. You can have it." He opens his arms wide in invitation.

Giotto walks out of the shadows and up to Jim his chin jutting out. "Kirk, yeah, I want to kick your ass. You think you're some kind of tough hot shit genius boy because Captain Pike likes you, well you're nothing. You're an embarrassment to Starfleet. How many times you been to jail Kirk?" He pushes Jim who sees it coming, adjusts his body weight accordingly and doesn't move. They wind up so close they are almost touching chest to chest. Jim is simply watching him, looking up into Giotto's eyes, totally calm; not allowing anger to enter the picture.

Giotto is infuriated that his words are not effecting Kirk. Jim finds this secretly amusing. He wouldn't make much of a captain if he got angry at insults. During their little discussion three of Giotto's buddies have come out of the fog to surround Kirk. He is aware of their presence, but doesn't move. Jim decides that he is not going to let four of them beat him. If it was just Cupcake he would have let him, but four against one no way.

"Cupcake are you so afraid of me you need to bring your buddies?" Jim asks. "I would let you have your way and beat me to a pulp if that's what you want, if it was only you. But I'm not going to go down easy with four of you."

Giotto steps back laughing. "I wanted a repeat of the bar fight. I was hoping you'd be sober though, but I can tell you've been drinking, I can smell it on you."

"Only two shots, brother. I can tell you that will not make a difference, so do your worst." Jim stands loose waiting for whatever they were going to throw at him.

"I am not your fucking brother!" Giotto says swings at him and Jim blocks him easily.

The others come up on him and Jim turns into a whirlwind blocking punches, swinging arms and legs. In short order the four attackers are on the ground groaning. None are seriously injured, two are dazed, one is out cold and Giotto is seriously stunned. Jim wipes blood off his nose with a torn part of his tee shirt. As he walks over to Giotto, he lightly scans the four of them for excessive amounts of pain that would indicate a serious injury and finds none. This thing that started in the bar in Iowa had to end and Jim was going to end it now.

He rolls Giotto onto his side and lifts his left eyelid, looking in. It takes a few seconds for his presence to register. When it does Giotto's eye goes wide all on its own. Jim inquires, his voice as sharp as a sword. "How 'bout it Cupcake; have you had enough? Can we be done with this stupid shit?" Giotto grunts and nods. "Good." Jim replies releasing said eyelid, wiping his hands and walking away. All he can hope to get out of this is Cupcake will have learned his lesson and will leave Jim alone now.

Jim doesn't quite feel ready to go back to his room after that, too much adrenalin, so he continues walking around campus. He doesn't pay attention to where he is going, he just walks and thinks about his interactions with non-empathic or telepathic species, mostly humans. Up until now his only other experience with groups of full humans came when he was sent to school. It wasn't the best experience of his formative years. Children have a tendency to be cruel to anyone who is different and Jim was very different. Not only is Jim an empath but he is telekinetic and in school he used it to play little games with people. At first he would move toys, pencils, books or anything else he could get away with and the others never knew. Until, the day in 2nd grade when he went too far. It was a harmless prank, but it could not be blamed on someone forgetting where they put something. There was a particular girl in the class who was very prim and proper; a target no self respecting 7 year old boy could resist. He caused all the stitching to become undone between the bodice and skirt of her dress and when she got up to use the rest room it fell off. All the boys in the class laughed, except Jim who just looked smug. That was what led school officials to begin to investigate him. Once the truth came out it was required that he be home schooled.

This was one of the contributing factors that led Winona to send Jim to live with her sister and her family at the Veenan colony on Tarsus IV. He spent six years off planet and returned to live on the farm in Iowa, by himself at 15. So this time at the Academy was his first time truly interacting with humans in any number.

He becomes aware of presence walking with him.

No emotions leaking, must be Spock.

"Oh hi Commander, how you doing? I was walking and thinking and not really paying attention to much of anything, until I felt a presence that wasn't leaking emotions walking next to me."

Spock regards him with a raised eyebrow and a slight quirk of his lips. "You are on the opposite side of the campus from your room Cadet Kirk. It is also very early in the morning, 0125 hours, why are you still out?"

"I had to walk one of my friends home from a poker game because he drank too much. Besides, there's no curfew tonight."

Spock takes a closer look at him. Jim is in street clothes. His tee shirt is torn from the neck down the right sleeve. The flap of fabric has streaks of blood where Jim wiped his nose. His right eye is swollen.

"Cadet Kirk, it appears that you did more than walk your friend home. You have been in a fight." As if under a compulsion Spock gently reaches up and touches the edge of the swollen area of Jim's eye. Both of them are surprised by the electric like shock that passes through the touch. Spock pulls back his hand and they look at each other. Spock's right eyebrow disappears into his hairline briefly before returning to normal. "I will walk you back to your room to ensure no further incidents."

_I must further investigate this phenomena._

Jim hadn't realized he was holding his breath, "um no, no Commander... I'll be fine." Jim insists, looking at his shoes.

_What the fuck. It can't be. I've gotta get away from here, from him._

"I must insist. Why were you fighting?" Spock does not notice Jim's discomfort as they continue on towards Jim's side of the campus.

"That guy I told you about before, Cupcake. He brought three buddies and he decided he was going to a repeat of the bar fight back in Iowa. In his mind I'm a disgrace to Starfleet because I've been in jail a time or two. I got the impression that he's jealous that Pike sponsored me. He wanted to prove to me that, even sober, I couldn't take on the four of them. So, I let them start it, but I finished it."

"You have been incarcerated?" Spock asks, finding himself interested in learning new things about this young man.

Jim gets defensive and sarcastic. "Yeah, as an 8 year old I was arrested for driving a car off a cliff. Well, the car went over the cliff, not me, obviously. I spent 3 days in juvie before they got in touch with my mother who was in deep space." Jim is still watching the ground.

"Why do you fight?" Spock continues his investigation.

"Because it makes me feel alive. What of it?"

"Would you like to spar sometime?" When Spock asks this Jim stops. Not physically, he continues walking. He stops mentally, thinking back to his talk with Sulu at Isaac's. He can't believe that the Commander is offering to spar with him. Dear God he's unsure. It will bring them into close physical contact. Jim swallows, Spock would like him to answer.

Tor-yehat etek gal-tor" (possible we see) Jim replies warily in Vulcan.

_I don't think it's a good idea for me to spar with this particular Vulcan. My body and mind want it too much._ _Watching him look at Uhura, well, seems he wants her not me. And I can't believe myself, I feel jealous! This just isn't right! I hardly know this guy. But hell he is beautiful, especially in these damn black uniforms. Does he ever wear anything else._

Spock nods accepting Jim's answer, no questions. He is very pleased to hear him using his Vulcan language skills. "Du stariben Vuhlkansu weh-rom kanok pon. (You speak Vulcan better every time.) It is good to hear you practicing in everyday conversation."

They continue walking and Jim continues watching the ground. At the moment he is conflicted and disgusted with himself.

"What was the disposition of the other four in the fight?" Spock asks, looking over and noticing that Jim is carefully watching the cracks in the sidewalk.

"I left them stunned. They'll all have more bruises than I will! I tried really hard not to seriously injure any of them and I'm 99.99% sure I succeeded. I checked before I left them and didn't detect the kind of pain I would have if there were broken bones or dislocations or anything serious." Jim replies still watching his feet.

As they are passing through the area where the fight was there was no evidence of the four attackers. Jim was satisfied. "Well Spock, I left them here and they're gone. I don't sense any residual pain. It's cool. No one's the worse for wear."

Spock looks at Jim with his right eyebrow raised and notices that Jim is still looking at his feet. "Cadet Kirk, you have been continually looking at the ground for some time now." Spock stops them grabbing Jim by the wrist. He is hit with a wave of self disgust, fear and distress. "Look at me Cadet."

Jim swings his head around. He really doesn't want to look at Spock because he knows what he will see. Then very softly Spock says, "please?"

Spock's voice, sounding like that made Jim shiver; he can't resist. He looks up into his eyes. Eyes, normally cerulean, glowing a shade of chartreuse look into Spock's brown ones. Spock is standing in his normal pose with his head cocked slightly to the left, right brow raised. "You are distressed." He states simply.

"Obviously." Jim huffs resigned. "What else did you pick up when you grabbed my wrist?"

"Self destructive, negative emotions, that one should not indulge in."

Jim starts laughing hard. Spock looks at him quizzically making Jim laugh even harder. As soon as he catches his breath he says, "That's just being illogically over-emotional Commander." Spock's right eyebrow disappears beneath his bangs. Jim continues to laugh grateful for the break in the emotional tension.

"I do not understand why one would indulge in those emotions, even if one is being illogical. It is self destructive." Spock's brows creased in the center and his lips are almost down turned in the corners in a frown.

Looking at Spock's expression makes Jim's laugh calm a bit. "Commander I don't think I could even attempt to explain it to you. I don't think anyone really wants to indulge in negative emotions, they just happen to us. Sometimes it's because of associations with things that have happened in the past. Sometimes it's because we're confused or conflicted about something happening around us. Right now, I'm in an environment I'm pretty much unfamiliar with. It's the first time in my life I've spent this much time around full humans and it's not easy. But, I've never been one to pass up on a challenge, like I told you before."

Jim realizes they have reached his building. "Well Commander, looks like I'm here. Thanks for the company." He is finally relaxed enough to give Spock a genuine smile, that Jim Kirk smile that brightens the night."Good night Commander."

Spock is momentarily caught by the brilliance of his smile and the fact that his eyes have once again returned to their natural blue. "Good night Cadet."

Jim enters the apartment, he is grateful it is still unoccupied by McCoy who would throw a fit if he had come back while the poker table was still in the middle of the room. As he puts things away from the game and he can't help but think back on his walk with Spock and realizes he needs some serious meditation time.


	6. Chapter 6 Enough is Enough

**Standard disclaimer - I don't own Star Trek or make any money on this, you know the deal. This is just for the fun of it.**

**Many thanks to those who have reviewed! You are the food for my muse. Thanks also to those who favorite or alert the story! I hope you continue to enjoy it.**

**Extra Special Thanks to T'Arrah for being a great beta!**

**I hope you like this chapter, it was a lot of fun to write ;D**

Chapter 6 - Enough is Enough

McCoy was in a really bad mood. Jocylen was absolutely refusing to let him spend any time during the holidays with their daughter, Joanna. As soon as Jim walked into the apartment he felt it. He had to remember that his friend wasn't used to the fact that his room mate was an empath, so before he would do anything overt, such as let Bones know that he was aware of the emotions in a room when he entered, he would walk softly. He would just act like he was clueless.

"Hi honey, I'm home." Jim chimes knowing the only way to get anything personal out of Bones was to irritate it out of him.

"Why do you have to be so goddamned cheerful all the time?" MCoy growls, looking straight ahead.

He's angry, yes, but he's more hurt and sad, very sad. Jim's emotional survey reveals.

"Anyway, can't you see I'm tryin to concentrate?" McCoy barks. There was a bottle of Wild Turkey 101 sitting on the coffee table and a glass of whiskey in his hand and no padds in sight.

"Concentrating pretty hard on that whiskey eh, Bones." Jim retrieves a glass from the kitchen then gently sits next to the grumpy doctor. "Got enough to share?"

McCoy cocks his head in the direction of the bottle and Jim pours some for himself. After taking a drink, Jim looks at his friend, smirks and says "so, what's up Doc?" doing his best Bugs Bunny imitation.

"Kid, try that one again and I'll kill ya." McCoy grumbles taking a big drink than pouring himself some more. "Talked to the god damned she devil Jocelyn today 'n she's refusing to let me visit with Joanna over Christmas."

"That rely sucks Bones." As Jim says these words he pours his feelings of sympathy and caring for his friend into them.

Jim has recently developed a theory about projective empathy, that it was tied to telekinesis; that the only way to project an emotion would be telekinetically. Since he knew he was telekinetic, all he could do was to try. He's pretty sure the Shanquat told him that he was not a projective empath to protect other people from him, just like they trained him to control his telekinesis. He could think of a few people back then who would have had some nasty delusions at his behest if he had know what to do. Now, if he could develop another skill to help him as a captain, all the better.

Jim shifts so he faces Bones and puts a hand on his shoulder. McCoy lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and starts to relax. "Is there anything you can do? I thought you had a special arrangement that would allow for you to see her on holidays whenever you were planet-side?"

"That's the shit kicker Jimmy. We do have an arrangement for me to see Joanna on holidays, but the she-devil won't let her sit still long enough for me to be with her for my permitted allowance of 12 hours during the entire time we are on break!" He takes a large drink.

A plan begins to formulate in Jim's mind. "Bones, Starfleet has to have some kind of legal department for cadets. You're already a surgeon you just need to get your Starfleet training. You're a commodity. Let's get in touch with the legal department tomorrow OK?"

McCoy shrugs "I got nothin' else to try, might as well."

The next day they are directed to one of those square utilitarian buildings from right after the earthquake in 2197, ugly, really ugly. A very proper Andorian woman is sitting at the front desk. It seems like all the lines in the entry are pointing at that desk. When they tell her their business she pushes a couple of buttons and says "second floor, turn left out of the elevator then the 3rd door on the right; you will be seeing Areel Shaw."

Jim swallows hard as he follows Bones to the elevator. Before they enter, he pulls his friend aside. McCoy is taken aback just by looking at Jim, he is pale and sweating. "Um, Bones, look, if this Areel Shaw is the same one as I know, you might want to talk to her yourself."

"What the fuck is this Jim? You're pale as a damn ghost! What's goin' on?" McCoy is pissed. Kirk dragged him over here and now he wants to abandon him to the shark lawyer!

Jim's head is spinning. Oh my fucking god, if this really is her, damn, never thought this would come back to bite me in the ass. We were just kids, it was a fucking prank.

"Look Bones, when I was in 2nd grade I played a prank on this girl named Areel Shaw. It wasn't very nice, I'll give you the details later. You have your papers, you know your rights, she'll be able to help you. Just do not mention me. If she's my age it could be the same person." Jim is wringing his hands and looking at the floor.

"So she's the one you got kicked out of elementary school because of, eh?" McCoy looks at Jim with a raised eyebrow knowing this will surprise his friend.

"How the fuck do you know that?" Jim is staring at him with narrowed eyes. He's pissed and he's afraid, that his private information isn't so private. There's some stuff in there no one should be permitted to see.

"When I decided to be your personal physician Jim, I was able to get your background. Don't worry, it's not information available to anyone. Since you've got a few health quirks from being born premature and in space, I asked Pike and he gave me access. Pretty interesting reading."

Jim has gone cold "All of it?" comes out in a whisper. His eyes are glowing a color that is almost purple, rage. "Everything. Are you telling me You. Know EVERYTHING!" It starts as a flat hiss and gets more intense with each word until the last couple are being spit out between gritted teeth.

McCoy steps back. He hasn't seen Jim like this in the three months they've known each other and it's pretty scary. "Easy Jim, there were some things that were sealed at the time you left Tarsus. If you ever want to talk about it, I'll listen Jim." He can see that Jim is starting to relax. His eyes are returning their color. McCoy finds himself breathing a sigh of relief. "I may have been an asshole xenophobe when we first met, but I'm OK now. I accept you for what and who you are."

Jim relaxes, a little, he's still on edge. He waves his hands in surrender "alright, do you want me to come in with you or not?"

"Yeah, I want ya to come with me. If I have rights, then I have rights and you shouldn't matter" McCoy is emphatic. He really wants to see this Areel Shaws reaction to Jim. He is laughing inside watching his friend squirm.

They follow the directions to Shaws office. The sign on the door reads:

Areel Shaw, Starfleet Cadet Legal Department

Enter

Jim really wants to run the other way, but he follows his friend Bones through the door into a waiting area with an Orion female receptionist sitting at a medium sized faux oak desk. Thankfully, she was taking her pheromone represent. Decent oil paintings cover most of the space on the boring white walls.

The receptionist looks up "May I help you boys?" blinking her eyes at them, being her natural seductive self.

McCoy gives her his most winning smile "Leonard McCoy ma'am. I was sent to see Ms. Shaw about my issue. This here is my room mate who kind of pushed me to even come here."

The receptionist, Ms. Vro, buzzes the inner office to announce them then ushers them inside.

There is a beautiful blond women sitting behind the desk that looks like it would swallow her. She gets up immediately and moves around the desk to greet the newcomers. As she is walking around she catches Jim and freezes. The look on her face goes from a smile to serious before she continues.

Jim realizes he is screwed as she walks right up to him. Even though the top of her head only comes to his chin he feels like she's about a foot taller than he is right at the moment.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Jimmy Kirk all grown up. When Captain Pike told me you were a cadet here, I knew you'd be in here sooner or later. So what is it this time, have you been undressing the faculty?" the sarcasm in her voice could cut paper.

"Ah, no actually, we're here for him." Jim points to Bones. "This is my room mate Leonard McCoy and he has an issue with his ex letting him see his daughter over the holidays. I thought maybe someone over here could help. Look Areel, I'm sorry about back then. It was a long time ago and I don't do stuff like that anymore. Please, help my friend and don't hold it against him that he's my friend." He gives her his best wounded puppy dog look.

She smiles, shaking her head then nods, "sure Jimmy, I'll take care of Leonard." Areel leads them to a side area set like a living room with four chairs surrounding a coffee table. "Leonard would you mind explaining your..."

Her voice faded from Jim's mind as he cataloged her reaction and if he had done anything to effect her or if she just reacted positively to him. He's not sure, but he could have been projecting calm without thinking about it, but he certainly was way to distracted with other thoughts to have that primary in his mind. Unless he's been doing it for years and didn't even know it. He wonders if it started when he was training young horses.

Jim's musings are cut off by McCoy poking him in the ribs "she can help Jimmy boy! She can help." He's happy to see his normally grumpy friend actually looking happy for a change.

"Thanks Areel. It's really nice to see a smile on Bones face." Jim reaches out to shake her hand which she takes freely.

"Bones? Where did that come from?" She looks from one to the other.

McCoy is shaking his head looking at Jim "when we were on the shuttle from Riverside he told me that Jocelyn took everything but his bones. It stuck, at least for me."

Areel laughs, the light sparkling in her green eyes. McCoy is mesmerized by the sound. "Len I'll contact you in a couple of days after I've straightened things out for you. And Jimmy, you stay out of trouble!" They shake hands and she shows them out of the office.

Once they get outside of the building Jim says "that went a lot better than I feared it would've." Jim is very relieved.

He looks over at Bones, who has a beatific smile on his face. Shit, I know that look, Bones is smitten, with Areel Shaw of all people. I can't believe it. Talk about a ghost from the past. Should've guessed from her high and mighty attitude in second grade she would be a lawyer.

If McCoy hadn't been in lala land he might have noticed that Jim was laughing to himself.

For the past six weeks Jim had been avoiding Commander Spock outside of instruction. He was totally unaware that his tactic was failing spectacularly because said commander was tired of being avoided. Kirk was a very complicated individual. There was something about the blond cadet that Spock found... compelling. Spock had certain suspicions about Kirk he would like to confirm, but it would take prolonged contact. He devised a plan.

Meanwhile, Jim had watched as Spock spent more of his free time with Uhura. This has to be a good thing for them. They can get married and have little pointy eared babies. He should be happy for both of them. But he is jealous and he found himself with this weird feeling like he needed to protect Spock.

What the fuck is that all about, he's a big boy, he can protect himself?

After weeks of meditating didn't help clear up his inner conflicts regarding Commander Spock Jim put in a comm to his mother. Winona's ship was local so the comm went through very quickly.

"Jimmy my dearest baby" Winona touches her lips with her first two fingers bringing them to her heart while Jim touches his to his lips and forehead in greeting.

"Hi Mom. I miss you so much I can't express it over the comm link."

"I feel the same Jimmy. How are you doing?"

"Well, remember I told you about that Vulcan instructor Commander Spock and that I thought I was spontaneously bonding with him?"

"Sure Jimmy, how could I forget that. What's going on?" Winona can tell that her son is upset by his posture. His eyes aren't glowing at this point in the conversation, however, she thinks it is likely only a matter of time. What is going on?

"Mom I'm certain that I'm bonding with him. Not only do I feel the empathic pull whenever I'm with him, I am having constant physical reactions to him as well. Not as strong as at first, but I feel a strong pull towards him throughout my body; a yearning. But it can't happen." He sighs, obviously upset now, his eyes are glowing with strong emotion. "Mom, I've gotta break this bond. I've tried and I can't."

Winona is surprised by Jim's statement. "Jimmy, slow down. Take a deep breath and think. First of all, and you know this it is impossible for an empathic bond to be one sided." She sees him trying to object.

"Jim" she says sharply to get his attention. "Listen to me. You lived with Veenan's most of your life. I don't like to have to remind you of painful memories, but your adolescent bonds with your early partners on Tarsus, Kevin & Carol were both of you. My bond with your father was both of us. I can't stress that enough. You have experienced those bonds. They were easily broken because of their nature. I could have broken the bond with your father if I had ever wanted to, but I never wanted to. This type of bond takes time to forge."

"However, the type of bond you are speaking of is a legend among our people. The Amana, the twining of souls. It is a sacred thing. There are stories from the old times of Amana bonds, where people were destined to be together. Their souls would be drawn together and they would be connected upon their initial meeting. But there have been none recorded for hundreds of years. It is always possible that they occurred and no one knew. You couldn't break that type of bond and you wouldn't want to. Do you understand?" She holds up a hand to forestall the objections she can see forming on his face. "If you are truly Ama (twined soul) to this man, you should consider yourself blessed!

"Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy. I can see confusion written all over your face and I want nothing more than to take you into my arms and hold you. Let me ask you something, how do you feel about this man?"

"Everything about me is drawn to him Mom. Whenever I am close to him I have to be conscious of the blood flow in my body to keep from getting an erection. I feel possessive, like he should be mine, everybody else keep your hands off. I've only known him for a couple of months. I can't be in his presence any longer than is required by classes or I feel like I do something I shouldn't. He is the most beautiful being I have ever seen. Is that enough of a barring of my soul for you?" He ends with a huff, his eyes definitely glowing green, twisting his hands.

Winona hasn't seen her son this upset in years. "Have you ever come into physical contact with him, a simple touch?" She knows exactly what he will say, she felt the same sparks when she and George first bonded.

"Yeah, it was like a static electric shock. We both felt it. What does that mean?" he asks afraid he has already guessed the answer.

She smiles at him "My baby, I believe that you may have yourself a very special life ahead of you. That spark was a sign of a deep bond. You must speak with him. He is probably very aware that there is something between you. Yet being Vulcan he is going to be reserved."

"Mom, he has invited me to spar with him, hand to hand. I don't.."

Jim is cut off by laughter coming from his mother "Jimmy, listen to yourself. Your stoic Vulcan Commander invited you to spar hand to hand with him." She looks at him suggestively, hoping he gets the hint, she can't believe he's really this dense.

"Yeah Mom, that's what I'm afraid of. I've been avoiding the issue."

"What, afraid that he feels the same way you do? Jimmy, he knows as well as you do that there will be physical contact between the two of you if you spar. Do you think that it might have been an ulterior motive for his asking? A Vulcan, a touch telepath?" _Come on son, take the hint. You'll be a lot happier if you do._

"I understand what you're saying and no I didn't think about the possibility of an ulterior motive before. Anymore, when I'm around him, I have to keep my concentration on things other than his body language, or even anything outside of class just trying to suppress how I feel." Jim says forlornly. "I'll seriously think about everything we talked about here tonight Mom."

"Good baby, I'm glad to hear that." Winona gives her youngest son a warm smile "I can see you're feeling better. Are you OK now?"

"I'm good for now Mom. I love you." Jim smiles at his mother. "Hey are you, by any chance going to make it to Earth for the holidays?"

Winona returns his smile "I don't think I'll be able to make it home until March Jimmy, I'm sorry. I love you my baby." Her door buzzer goes off " I have to go Jimmy. I'll be in touch soon. Goodnight" she cuts the comm.

The following Sunday afternoon found Jim sparing with the four guys he fought. Giotto had developed a grudging respect for Jim after getting his ass handed to him and he asked Jim to show him and his friends some of his moves. Jim was so taken back by being asked, he agreed. They are using a room with observation windows on two sides, as this room was used for advanced hand to hand combat training. It had mats on the floor and all of the way up the walls where there were no windows and up to the windows where they existed.

Spock is very aware that Jim has booked the advanced hand to hand combat training room to train some security cadets in some moves he uses. It is his plan to meet Jim there and spar with him.

As Jim instructed the other four in various moves Spock observed how gracefully & fluidly he moved. His chest was bare, glistening with a sheen of sweat and Spock could see the muscles moving fluidly under his skin; he was beautiful. Spock found himself fascinated with the view before him.

Spock moved to the exit and watched. He made sure he was visible.

Even with the four opponents Jim was still aware enough of his environment to notice the arrival of a watcher in black at the exit. He stopped the action and turned to see who had arrived. It was Spock. For several seconds he forgot to breathe. Then he turned to Giotto and said "same time next week Sam?"

"Yeah, Kirk, sounds good. Come on guys, I think the Commander has something to say to little Jimmy." Giotto continues to try to get Jim to react to his gibe.

Jim's attention is on only one person in the room, Commander Spock. It's a good thing he was already sweating because it felt like the temperature in the room increased by 5 degrees C. His breathing deepens and quickens. He feels nervous and excited at the same time.

Spock quietly observes as Kirk holds his breath then his skin flushing brighter. At Jim's changes Spock finds himself feeling smug to be able to elicit such a reaction from the man standing in front of him.

"Hi Commander, I don't suppose you'd want to spar now would you?"

"That would be agreeable" Spock states as he walks into the room. He is wearing a skin tight black workout outfit. "I will attempt not to injure you."

Unconsciously Jim licks his lips; he finds the sight before him to be absolutely delicious. This is going to be fun! I hope I can properly concentrate on the fight. Jim thinks as they circle one another.

"I know you're fast Vulcan, I'm gonna stay outta your way" he gestures at Spock "come on, let's do this."

Spock moves with lightning speed to hit Jim in his right shoulder, but Jim ducks smoothly out of the way delivering a hit to Spock's stomach on the way. Spock is surprised as he spins right and sweeps his leg to trip Jim who jumps over it while hitting Spock in the back.

They dance this way for a while, swapping the occasional hit, before Spock faints one way then twists the other finally sweeping Jim's legs out from under him, pinning him to the ground. Spock makes sure that his arms are also pinned. The full body contact is electric to both of them. Spock puts his nose at Jim's neck and takes a deep sniff savoring the scent. The act of which causes a shiver to run down Jim's back. Spock's pupils are blown open, he looks deeply into Jim's eyes which are now lighted from within, glowing brightly blue in the small disc of iris surrounding his dark pupil, their erect cocks trapped between them. Spock bends his head down and licks Jim's sweat in a trail from his heart, up his neck over his pulsing artery to his right ear. Jim's eyes go from blue to white, showing very strong emotions of love and lust.

Jim moans "Spock" and tries to buck upward. He struggles to get his arms free to no avail.

"You have been avoiding me James. I will not have it. I will have you, as you will have me." With that he lets go of Jim's arms.

Jim immediately reaches up and begins caressing Spock's face; he traces his eyebrows with one hand while running the fingers of his other hand across Spock's lips. Then pulls his head down into a passionate kiss.

Spock pulls back breathlessly. "We cannot continue here, it is too public. There are also issues we must discuss if we are to become involved in a romantic relationship." He stands looking only somewhat disheveled, reaching out a hand to help Jim up.

Jim uses Spock's hand to pull him tight, whispering huskily in his ear "only your place will do Commander." He reaches up and smooths Spock's hair back into place. Jim throws on his tee shirt as he follows close behind Spock and on to his destiny.

A/N: **Please, review. I really want to know what people think of this chapter. Thanks! Ruby**


	7. Chapter 7 Exposed

**Standard disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or make a penny on this**

**warning: This chapter contains mentions of violence, rape, murder, and other potentially icky things. Don't like it don't read it.**

**We finally find out about what actually happened on Tarsus. **

**Thanks to everyone who reads this story.**

**Special thanks to all my wonderful reviewers and to everyone who has alerted or marked to story as a favorite! **

**Extra Special Thanks to T'Arrah for being my beta!**

Chapter 7 -

As soon as they enter Spocks apartment and the privacy locks are engaged Jim puts up a hand in a universal stop sign. "Can we sit down please? I've got a couple of important things to say before anything else happens between us."

Spock leads them into his living area "would you like some tea James?" Every time Spock says his formal name it gives Jim a thrill.

"Yea, that would be really nice, thanks." Jim looks around and notices some of the ubiquitous Starfleet artwork, various cool looking artifacts from Vulcan and to his astonishment a bookshelf of genuine books, some even appeared to be leather bound.

When Spock returned to the room a several minutes later with the tea he found Jim perusing his book collection. "Wow, Spock, real books. My dad had quite a collection of real books. I have a few of them still. Nothing like reading a good old fashioned book."

A spicy smell permeates the air from the tea as Spock pours two mugs. Jim sits on the opposite side of the coffee table from Spock on the cushy black synth-hyde sofa. as the small room would allow and sips his tea "this is interesting tea, I like it." He is prevaricating and he knows it.

"It is Vulcan spice tea" Spock says flatly, looking at Jim like he is ready to devour him over the rim of his mug. He will wait only so long for Jim to speak because the mere proximity of the man is tearing his control to pieces. Spock needs to know why.

"Look, Spock, I don't know how much you know about Veenans. It's known that we need an empathic bond with someone to have any kind of romantic relationship. Most of the time those bonds take time to build and emotional input from both partners. Not us. There was something between us from the moment we met. It scared me and it's why I've been avoiding you." He takes a deep breath and looks at Spock who is still looking at him with that same hunger. He takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. "We are forming a bond that goes very deep Spock, without our even trying or without our knowledge, at least on the surface level. It seems at another level there is acknowledgment that we are consciously unaware of. It is a permanent thing Spock. It will be unbreakable. It is already unbreakable. I've tried to break it, but I can't." He looks at the floor feeling ashamed.

He doesn't even register the movement but Spock is at his side, lifting his chin so they can have eye contact. Although Spock is ready for the shock it is still electrifying. They both feel it throughout their entire bodies. Neither do they need the eye contact to confirm the others emotions. Jim can feel Spocks acceptance and love, even some humor; Spock can feel Jims shame but beyond that, his love.

"What are you ashamed of James?" Spocks deep voice is quiet. At the moment his biggest concern is to keep Jim calm and not let the simmering emotional volcano he senses erupt.

"You should not be bound to me Spock. I am broken. You don't know what I am. I've done horrible things. You should be able to be bound to someone like Uhura." Jims emotions are strong, yet mixed the glow of his eyes is moving back and forth between greenish and bluish, not settling on either. Jim tries to look anywhere but at Spocks eyes but he cannot. He doesn't even realize he is crying until Spock begins to blur. He blinks hard a couple of times to dislodge the tears. He finally manages to break eye contact and looks at his hands "you belong with someone better than me."

"James, you are correct that I am not aware of the event in your past of which you are so ashamed. Point of fact we have only known each other for 14 weeks 6 days 12 hours and 27 minutes. However, my katra was drawn to you when I first looked in your in eyes.

"When I finally was old enough to realize how difficult it must have been for my mother to live on Vulcan and be bonded to a Vulcan, I questioned her, she told me that the heart does, what the heart does and there is nothing we can do to stop it. If, as you say, we have, without being consciously aware, become empathically bonded I must make you aware of what being bonded to a Vulcan entails." Spock takes Jims hands, they both gasp and Jim finally meets Spocks eyes again. Just the contact with Spocks hands has driven the green from Jims eyes, Spock wonders what Jims next reaction will be, however.

"I think I know" Jim whispers. He tries to pull his hands back because he is afraid, but Spock holds onto them rubbing his thumbs on the backs of Jims hands, "you bond telepathically, right?"

Spock nods, pleased at Jims perception. "Indeed, there are several levels of telepathic bonds. All Vulcans are bonded to one another at the lowest level we are not consciously even aware of. Then there are familial bonds with others of your blood. Then there are mating bonds, first a betrothal bond, which eventually becomes a mating bond. All Vulcan children are bonded at age 7."

Jim makes the connection right away, he is not stupid "ok, so you're already spoke for, what the fuck am I even doing here?" And he moves to get up to leave. He is feeling really stupid for letting things get this far with someone who is engaged when Spock puts a hand on his shoulder effectively preventing him from getting up.

"You _will_ listen." Spock grows visibly agitated, in that there is a fire in his eyes, making it a demand and pushing Jim back into his seat on the sofa, natural blues eyes wide, he's feeling kind of numb at the moment.

"I do not have any feelings for T'Pring. The last I saw of her all she wanted from me was a title, land and to be married into the House of Surak. She has always treated me with disdain because of my human heritage and certainly does not want my children for the same reason. I do not wish to form a marriage with her, let alone one for my father for purely political purposes. The betrothal bond between us is extremely weak." Once Spock was done with his rant it was like he seemed to run out of steam, or a light was switched off.

Jim was in awe of how Spock could be having an angry rant one minute then shut down those emotions the next. "Sounds like your not very happy with your father."

"My father was not pleased when I turned down my acceptance to the Vulcan Science Academy to attend Starfleet. Initially he wanted to disown me, but my mother forbade it. She is a very formidable woman."

"Sounds like it" Jim smiles, _sounds like my kind of woman_. Jim is glad he is sitting down. It takes him a few seconds to digest what Spock just told him.

"So, Spock, let me guess, you turned down entrance to the most esteemed science institutions in the galaxy because they insulted your human half?" Jim is smiling from ear to ear as his says this.

"Indeed" Spock replies raising an eyebrow in amusement, nodding once.

Jim gives him a bear hug "that is so cool. What is it about being half human that makes us less in the eyes of the full breeds? The humans never understood me, they don't understand you. Vulcans treat you like your a freak. The Veenans haven't been so bad to me but not everyone was accepting. Some people actually ostracized my mothers entire clan for marrying my father and having the audacity to have children."

And Jim is ready for the most painful rejection of them all when Spock sees the shit locked away inside his head. "Spock, look, you're gonna see some really ugly shit inside my head and I doubt you'll even want to know me once you see it." Jim waves off Spocks attempt to object "so why don't you just look. It'll be easier on me than explaining it, trust me."

"You are certain?" Spock questions, waiting for Jim to nod before he places his right hand on the left side of Jims face, attaching his fingers to his psi points. "My mind to your mind" Jim joins him in saying "my thoughts to your thoughts.."

_/The mental landscape is like a bright sunlit day on Earth. Spock doesn't recognize where. There is a starship being built in the distance._

_/"It's Riverside Iowa, the Kirk family farm. That's the Enterprise they're building over there." Jim takes Spocks hand and walks to a very dilapidated looking building that does not look like any of the other buildings. _

_/"The bad shit's locked in there." He walks up to a data padd attached to the building and enters a 20 key code and his hand print before the door clicks open. _

_/They step into a room. It is a farming community on with mountains in the background, it is summer an adolescent Jim is playing with his friends. "This is Tarsus IV before it got bad."_

[blink]

_/It is early the following summer. Winter grain crops have been attacked by a fungus and either failed or what was able to be salvaged could be tainted with aflatoxins; famine has set in. Half of the population has been systematically butchered by the planetary governor to make room for his chosen half. Jim is on the run with 12 kids out of the original 28. He was supposed to protect them and he couldn't. Images of those he couldn't save are seared in his mind..._

[blink]

_/It is autumn. Jim has been captured. He has lost so much weight he is barely recognizable. Kodos wants him for a bed slave. Jim refuses to submit and is sent to be broken. He is tortured for days with whips, solitary confinement, hanging by his arms and no food. He still will not submit. Kodos orders that they change tactics. He is stripped of his remaining rags, chained to the wall spread eagle with a small table barely supporting his hips. Then repeatedly raped him until he breaks in a way they do not expect. He sees red..._

_/...everything is in a red/violet haze...the chains break and Jim is free...the man who was in the process of raping him flies back and is impaled on a pike of another guard...there are still short chains attached to his wrists and ankle cuffs, he doesn't notice...he is naked and bleeding freely from the whip slashes on his back...running down his legs is a mixture of blood and the semen of the rapists...if he sees a guard he reaches out with his open hand and makes a fist and they die...every time he sees someone in Kodos uniform he kills them...bodies pile up as they come for him...when they stop coming he goes after Kodos and tears him apart..._/

Spock hears a roar and feels himself flung from Jims mind. It feels as though he was thrown, physically across the room.

The roaring hasn't stopped. It takes a moment to realize it is Jim yelling "NOOOOOO" which drops into a horrid croon of "no no no no nooo no". Instinct tells Spock to protect himself from the strong emotions Jim is projecting but the empathic bond they share will not allow him to do so. He knows what Jim needs at that moment and he grabs him by the upper arms and shakes him. Jim stops crooning upon the contact and starts to relax, so Spock pulls him into an embrace.

When Jim first comes back to himself he realizes he is alone again in his head; strong arms surround him, he feels safe. Slowly he brings himself back to reality. He hears a baritone voice speaking Vulcan. He feels that Spock accepts him. Where Jim expects to find pity and disgust he finds a profound respect. And, underlying all, is love.

Jim pulls back and looks at his Ama. He is certain now that this is meant to be. If Spock could see those things inside his head and not go running away screaming, everything can work out. When he first looks at Spock his eyes are glowing chartreuse, but they quickly change to a light blue when he sees the small smile on Spocks face; one he realizes will only be seen by him.

Spock wipes a tear off of Jims cheek "I am still here ashaya. I will not leave you. Kaiidth. What is, is. Circumstances were extraordinary do not berate yourself."

Jim leans into the touch "I can't believe you saw all that stuff and can even allow me to be in your sight. Vulcans are non violent, you don't even eat meat, for christ sake. Yet you accept the fact that I murdered 50 people with my mind."

Spock makes sure that Jim is looking him in the eye as he says "T'hy'la, you were 13 years old and pushed to a point where self preservation over ruled reason And you had abilities no one counted on." He pauses to let that sink in before he continues "James, when you are captain of a starship you will surely order the deaths of more than 50 people in battle. People will die on missions, you may even have to order people to go on missions that would almost certainly result in their deaths. You cannot hold that guilt, you cannot save everyone James."

Jim takes a really deep, cleansing breath, exhaling very slowly before speaking, "I know, I know." Another breath "that's why the Shanquat that worked with me had me lock up those memories like that. After we got my TK back under control we examined what happened. He helped me build that shack then we put all the memories in there with all the guilt and pain and locked it up. A pretty simplistic explanation for something that took almost two years. Right now it's wide open and bleeding. I need to get it closed and I'm already tired." Jim closes his eyes and leans into his companion.

"I may be able to assist in that endeavor" Spock says softly.

Jims head pops up immediately with a hopeful smile on his face "really?"

Spock nods once "if we meld once more I should be able to lend you the strength you need."

Jim takes Spocks hand and holds it up to his face "let's do it before I decide I'm never looking at that again."

_/They find themselves on the farm in Iowa. The sky is full of roiling storm clouds, all varieties of grays. _

_/The shack is illuminated by continuous flashes of lightning, with no sound of thunder. The door has fallen off and there are bodies scattered in front of it in a sea of blood which is oozing out of the door as it would from a wound. Wind blows towards them bringing with it the scents of death and corruption._

_/Jim takes Spocks hand. "I'm glad you're here with me" he gives him a grim smile as they walk towards the mess._

_/There is wind that tries to push them back. Jim concentrates, gripping Spock hand hard. Spock can feel Jim tap into his energy fields; a strong push; a flash of golden light; the wind is gone. _

[blink]

_/They are standing in front of the shack standing amongst blood and stacked bodies of Kodos soldiers. _

_/Still holding Spocks hand, Jim closes his eyes and concentrates on getting them back inside. Spock feels Jim tapping even deeper into his energy fields; he allows Jim free access to all he needs. _

_/Spock watches as a golden glow begins to form around all the blood & bodies. He feels Jim pulling more energy and the glow brightens. The entire mass begins to move into the opening, slowly. Spock only observes, cataloging telekinesis from an internal perspective giving Jim the support he needs. _

_/Slowly the bodies & blood are pushed back inside the shack. At the same time the storm is breaking up. The heat of the sun is welcome. Spock is becoming drained so he knows that Jim is even more drained. _

_/Jim gives Spock a tired smile "the door and the locks will be easy since we can do it physically." Jim walks over to the door laying on the ground close to the door. "You grab the other side and we'll stand it up" as they place the door over the opening of the building Jim pauses and concentrates briefly; hinges and locking mechanisms are attached. Jim checks his locking codes to make sure they are set; he nods to Spock "all done."/_

Jim opens his eyes into slits "thanks Spock, I couldn't have done it without that extra energy." His head thunks against Spocks chest falling asleep instantly.

Spock moves Jim barely notices the shift and lays back in the sofa asleep. He moves into his kitchen and gets bowls, granola, almond milk and fruit to replace their drained resources. There was also a pot of bitter Vulcan herbal tea he was taught to drink after doing telepathic work, with honey added for the sugars. When he returned Jim was sitting up, disoriented. Looking at Spock he says "I could feel that you left." His eyes brighten when he sees the tray "ooooh, food, I'm ravenous."

They ate in silence consuming every piece of fruit and half the cereal. Jim grimaces at the taste of the tea, even sweetened it tastes foul after the fruit. Spock notices Jims reaction to the tea "drink the tea James, it will help with the rebuilding of our depleted psi centers." Jim wrinkles his nose and downs the tea.

"Thanks mom" after he says this Jim waits for Spocks typical reaction to an idiom he doesn't understand but he is disappointed. "You got that one" he pauses so Spock can nod, "hmm, I'm gonna have to work harder" he smiles laughing.

"Once my mother was ill and I was left to look after her for several days. She said I was mothering her, that I was being a mother hen" he gives Jim that little almost a smile and an amused eyebrow.

Jim cracks up "she was giving you human training."

"Indeed. I believe that she has been doing that all my life" Spock looks at his fellow half human, his T'hy'la and wants to take him into his arms and love him now. However, he realizes how exhausted he is. Just as he thinks this he notices Jim starting to sag.

He takes Jims hand, startling him "I believe showers and sleep are in order" standing and pulling Jim up with him into the sonics and off to bed.

It is 0439 when Spock senses the tip of his right ear being nibbled and sucked. They are laying where they crawled under the covers, exhausted, after showering the night before. Spock laying on his back and Jim is draped across Spocks right side slowly trailing teasing butterfly kisses and soft nips down from Spocks ear across his stubbled jaw, up to his lips. Jim pulls on Spocks lower lip with his, looking into hungry chocolate brown eyes "mornin' lover" descending into a kiss and a slow tangle of tongues.

As Jim comes up for air Spock notices his eyes are glowing white, full of the emotion he feels through the full body contact; it is very heady for both of them. With anyone else he would have fought to maintain control, but not with Jim, his T'hy'la. Here, with Jim, he has no need to control his rising emotions, so he lets them go.

Jims breath hitches as the full force of Spocks emotions hit him. He finds they are his own emotions being reflected back at him. As they tease with lips, tongues and fingers they grind their bodies together. The moment their erections touch their passion flares and frees their souls from their bodies and they weave together as the Amana bond strives for completion. From their perspectives they see threads: Spocks main thread is silver surrounded by desert duns and flaming reds and oranges; Jims main thread is gold surrounded by the greens, blues & browns of water worlds. As they are touching each other the threads begin to weave together, sliding over one another as their nerve endings are set on fire.

Slowly they make love and as they do the threads became woven into one, vast, inseparable rope. It an intensely erotic and when the rope is finished they both are brought fully back to the physical plain by the white out ecstasy of their orgasms.

**A/N: This one was tough for me because it is the first time I've ever written anything so angsty. There will be more in the future but that's for after they leave the academy. So, I really want to know what you guys think, so PLEASE, let me know in a review.**

**Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8 Actions Have Concequences

**Disclaimer - I own nothing Star Trek & I make no $ from this**

**Sorry this took so long. I had a little baseball playoff induced writers block. But now that my team is out I'm back.**

**Thanks to everyone who is faithfully reading (especially if you add a review) the story!**

**Special thanks to my Beta's T'Arrah and Tinkering (my grammer is much better now!)**

Chapter 8 - Actions have Consequences

Chris Pike took one look at the pair entering his office and buzzed his assistant.

"Dianne, hold all calls, up to and including god." He leads Commander Spock and Cadet Kirk into his office thinking it is likely a disciplinary action and it must be pretty serious if Spock needed to bring Kirk here himself.

After the younger men were seated on the other side of his desk "Well Kirk I really wasn't expecting trouble this soon son." He shook his head disappointedly.

Jim smirks and exchanges a look with Spock. "Told ya he'd feel this way Spock."

_'Hold on, don't make assumptions here Chris',_ Pike thinks as he starts watching their body language more closely.

Spock raises an amused eyebrow, glancing at Jim.

"You did indeed James"

He then looked back to Pike.

Jim's gaze joins his. "It's not what you think Captain Pike."

Spock takes over, speaking professionally.

"Christopher, James must withdraw from my xenolinguistics class at this late time in the term and I wish to determine if there is a way for him to do so without adversely effecting his academic records."

Pike looks more carefully back and forth between the two of them before drawing a conclusion. "Shit... you two are in a relationship."

Trying to be the clown to cover his nervousness Jim mouths off "Got it in one Captain!" earning him a raised eyebrow from Spock.

Pike ran his hand through his hair and shook his head "You couldn't have waited, could you." Looking back and forth between them he realized they are both more balanced than they were the last time he had seen them. Too frequently he had seen Spock freeze whenever put in an emotional situation because he would be overwhelmed. He couldn't think a young man more demonstrative with his emotions than Jim Kirk.

With a sigh he says, "When did this start?"

"Yesterday.'" Jim responds.

"Yesterday." Pike repeats looks at Jim pointedly. "Kirk, I think I just got about 50 new gray hairs thanks to you."

Jim says a smart "You're welcome." earning him a scathing look from Pike, which causes Jim to snort a flippant apology.

He glances at Spock briefly support.

"Look, to be honest, Chris, it started the first day of class, although I tried to deny what was happening. We formed a spontaneous empathic bond, which I didn't even know was possible until I talked to Mom. It drew us together." Jim nods in Spocks direction "I don't know how long it would've been before I did or said anything, he was the one to force the issue."

Pike does not allow his eyes to widen or his to mouth fall open at this bombshell and looks questioningly at Spock "is this true?"

"It is" Spock adds nothing more.

Jim holds in his laughter from the expressions that have just passed over Pikes face and the amusement coming from Spock.

Pike looks at Spock for several seconds realizing that his first prize student, Spock has decided to be stubborn. And he's realized that when Spock has decided to be stubborn, he might have more luck getting rocks to bleed.

He sighs and returns his attention to Jim, confusion plain on his face.

"Jim, I've known you're mother for a long time. Other Veenans as well. It was always my understanding that bonds took time to build. What's all this about a spontaneous bond?"

"Look Captain Pike, I'm not going into details about our personal lives, but we _are_ empathically bonded, however, unlike most Veenan empathic bonds, this will only be severed if one of us dies." Jim pauses, looking at Pike hoping he will accept his explanation. "If you want, we can have a Shanquat verify it."

There was something niggling Pike about Spock and bonding so he looked his file up on his PADD while Jim was talking. Yes, that was it, Spock was bonded at the age of 7 to a girl named T'Pring.

He puts the PADD on the table and pushes it across to Spock who picks it up, takes in the information with a glance and raises his right eyebrow. Jim feels a flash of irritation from Spock who passes him the PADD. Jim eyes it and nods.

Pike watches their silent interchange and wonders what their future will bring. These are his two prize students and he must be sure that Spock understands about Jim's background. The last thing he wants is for either of these young men hurt because of personal details left out. Looking at Jim he asks quietly "How much does he know?"

Jim understands what Pike is asking immediately and knows that he only wants to protect Spock.

"All the negative stuff." Pike nods in response.

"Make sure to tell him the rest".

Then looking at Spock, Pike asks the pertinent question.

"What about this bond you have with T'Pring?"

Spocks irritation flares again making Jim look at him. "Spock chill, just tell him. He wants to protect me too. Just like when he wanted to know if you understood about me." Jim reaches over and pulls Spocks hand, which has become a fist on his lap, into his and intertwines their fingers.

Spock finally moves to speak. "There is nothing between myself and T'Pring. She despises my human heritage. Our bond has almost completely disappeared since James and I empathically bonded. As soon as I am able I intend to have that bond severed completely so that I can formally bond to James."

Pike nods at this, the wheels in his clever brain spinning a bit at all these two have imparted to him. Yet when those wheels mesh he finds that he is totally unsurprised by their news. It seems... right. He has a flash of the two of them at the helm of a Starship standing shoulder to shoulder: Kirk in command gold and Spock in science blues. He shakes his head to dislodge the sight and gives the pair a long appraising gaze.

"Alright, I will see what I can do to get Jim out of the class so he doesn't have to fail. I don't want to see that on his record anymore than either of you do, but it's pretty late in the term for a withdrawal.

"Also, we can't officially change your living conditions until summer when people graduate and new quarters become available. However, I'm sure that you'll make due."

He rolls his eyes at the look that they give each other. He had never seen Spock show emotion openly before. "I'm sure I don't have to warn you not to compromise each others work! As bondmates, under both Veenan and Vulcan law, you cannot be separated during your service so you will be working together on the same posting. However your behavior here at the academy will do quite a bit to determine that posting. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir." They respond in unison, the atmosphere lightening.

Pike looks at them again and shakes his head "Dismissed."

As they stand they realize that they are still have their hands clasped and quickly disengage them to salute, both blushing. Pike can't help but find that endearing but he doesn't allow himself to smile until he is alone.

Jim follows Spock out of the administrative building where Pike's office had been located into the beautiful San Francisco morning.

"Looks like Pike saw through us pretty quickly." Jim looks at Spock who just keeps walking "But maybe that's because he knows both of us pretty well."

"That seems likely. However, it is concerning to me as well James." Spock feels the thrill it gives Jim to hear him say his formal name and catalogs it for later use.

"Well, all we can do for now is see how other people react." Spock nods in agreement.

When they have almost reached the science building Jim says "Listen Spock, tonight is a weekly poker game that's at my place this week and Bones won't be up to playing host, so it's up to me this week. And, since we really didn't get much sleep last night, I think I'll stay home tonight."

"That is agreeable." Spock nods to Jim with that tiny smile.

"Alright, see you tomorrow in class then." Jim sends him love through the bond.

Areel Shaw was proud of her job. She liked having some weight to throw around when it counted, so that she could help people. The comm came through this morning for that handsome Southern doctor, Leonard McCoy. His wife's lawyer caved in immediately when he received her letter with the weight of Starfleet legal behind it. She got him the requisite time with his daughter during the Christmas/New Years holidays. And this gave her the excuse she was waiting for to call him so she could ask him for a date, if maybe he didn't ask her first.

It was several rings before the comm was answered "Grand Central Station, Kirk here". He recognizes her immediately and gives her a bright as the sun smile as she giggles at his greeting. "Oh, hi Areel, I bet you want Bones."

"From the sounds of things, I'd guess you're having a party, I wouldn't want to interrupt. But, yes, I would like to speak to Leonard."

"Trust me, he wants to hear from you right away. And you're lucky, he's here. But he's not playing poker out here with us or he'd already be here, he's in his room. Hey, good or bad?" He couldn't resist asking but she merely shakes her head "Well, I had to try. Be right back." Jim walks away.

For a minute all Areel hears are the sounds of the poker game until she hears Leonards distinct voice coming closer, grumbling "Damn-it Jim, who the hell is it? I'm busy studyin for a practical in non-humanoid biology!"

The last word said as he turns in front of the viewer. When he sees who it is he smiles and his voice changes dramatically.

"Well, how-do Miss Shaw" He drawls smoothly "Aren't you looking lovely this evening".

Jim shakes his head, walking back to the game pointing back over his head.

"Check this out, just last week in my class on varying philosophical attitudes in the Federation we were discussing the Manrkian belief that there are no coincidences and that if that is true then everything happens for some reason or another. In steps an ugly legal problem Bones was having, I suggest he go to Starfleet legal. Turns out, the lawyer was in my class in second grade where I played a practical joke on her that got me kicked out of school. Since we first went over to see her she's been practically all he talks about, besides work... and tests... oh and, a did I say _**tests!**_" The loud 'tests' at the end was designed to see if Bones was paying any attention; he was not.

"Vat are you saying Jeem? Zat zere ees a plan to our lives?" Chekov attempts to interpret Jim's statement.

Jim shakes his head "No Pavel. I just think that the entire thing is really fucking weird."

He pauses, thinking of the best way to continue. "To run into Areel here and then have her working as a lawyer on Bones case _**and**_ to top it all off Bones has a crush on her. Pretty odd, don't ya think?" Jim laughs and turns back to the poker table. "Now, where were we boys."

Shorty after the resumption of the poker game McCoy walks over to the table and puts a hand on Jim's shoulder.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"'S'cuse me guys. Be right back." Jim can't wait to hear what Bones has to say and he jumps up from the table leaving the poker players throwing their hands up in disgust because it's his bet.

"But eets your bet Jeem!" Chekov squeels.

"Fold!" Jim replies as he walks off a few feet with his room mate. "Well, what?"

"Don't let it get to your head kid, but it worked. Ms. Shaw got me my time with my little girl, thanks." Bones' smile quickly turns into a frown as he looks at Chekov. "I think you better get back over there before the boy genius has a heart attack and I have to work and emergency in my own apartment." With that he stomped off to his room leaving Jim laughing.

"Hi Mom" Jim gave Winona his greeting and she returned hers, watching him like a hawk.

"Hi Jimmy, you're different."

She can see a big difference in her son. Jim smiles at her because he feels balanced for the first time in his life. "I wish I was there so I could feel you instead of guessing by looking. You seem untroubled for the first time since you left elementary school. Mothers' intuition is telling me you spoke with your friend."

Jim blushes, giving himself away. "What Mom, can't wait to get your hands on the juicy bits," Jim gesticulates wildly, laughing.

"You really are a bad influence on me Mother of Mine!" Laughing even harder he continued. "You know Mom, if Bones overheard this conversation it would sound almost incestuous thinking I'd be giving my mother the physical instead of the emotional details of my love life.

"Actually, I didn't say a thing... Spock actually got fed up with me avoiding him and pushed the issue." With that Jim went through the previous days events starting with sparring and ending with their meeting with Pike.

"Well baby it seems that this bond is doing good things for you. I'm glad you stopped fighting it." With a fleeting smile, Winona switched from mothering mode to thoughtful scientist.

"Now, I have some news for you. I heard from my geneticist friend Mike Tipersly, remember him?" Jim nodded slowly.

"Well, as he promised he would do, he let me know that Carol Marcus did take David in for genetic profiling to see if he carried your copy of the TK gene." Jim's eyes get really wide and Winona can see the question there.

"No, he's not a carrier." Jim visibly relaxed sighing.

"And, just in case you're curious, he is also not s'treu. What you did give him was your looks, Mike also told me that he is the spitting image of you as a 5 year old, seems you gave him more of those handsome Kirk genes than anything else."

Jim smiles a sad smile. "Nice to know that I contributed something good to the kid." Jim rubbed his face with his hands and mumbled.

"I wonder if I'll ever get to meet him."

Pausing wistfully he continued. "I'll never figure out why Carol decided it was my fault the birth control failed. We both took the shots. Would have to have failed on both ends really. Can't make a baby without two halves. But because I'm s'treu it _had_ to be my fault. Kaiidth." He shook his head.

Winona smiled, fascinated. "Jimmy did you consciously just speak Vulcan or did that just come out?"

"I did?" Jim looked confused. "What did I say?"

Winona warms, laughing at the fact that her son is now using his mate's language "Kaiidth, perfect word to describe that situation, nothing you can do to change it. I too hope you get to meet David someday my baby."

Jim scrunches his nose at his mother calling him baby all the time "Mom, I know that I'm your youngest son, but must you always call me baby?"

She laughed again.

"Jimmy, you will always be my baby. But I suppose I should try to curtail it." She leaned into the monitor. "Gee whiz, wouldn't it be embarrassing to have your mother call you when you're a captain of a starship and call you baby on front of your crew?" Jim laughed at the sarcasm in her voice.

"Alright _Mother_ I get your point. I could always call your ship and ask for the 'bitch who whelped me'." He retorts laughing evilly.

"I take exception to that _baby_ as I am not a dog." They continue laughing but have to interrupt their conversation to catch their breath.

The plan was for xenolinguistics class to go as usual. And, although Jim sat in his usual seat and Spock did his usual routine, there was no interaction between the two of them.

Nyota Uhura was a very observant young women. She wouldn't say anything during class; they were scheduled for tutoring later. If Kirk showed up, she would bring it up there.

When she arrived at Spocks office she noticed Kirk was already there; no big surprise, he's almost always there first.

Except for the last couple of weeks. Kirk had been avoiding Spock for the last couple of weeks. Now they were interacting, over chess as if it was business as usual. But something was different. She couldn't tell what it was yet, but there was something and it was between them. Then she notices Spock take one of Jim's pieces and makes sure that he makes skin contact with him. Then Jim giggles! _Wow, Mr. Testosterone, James T. Kirk just giggled._ She's heard him laugh a lot, but never giggle!

Uhura decides it is the opportune moment to walk in on this, she wasn't sure what it was. "Aru, Commander Spock, Kirk. Tches gla-tor nash-veh, u' tsuri." (Afternoon, Commander Spock, Kirk. Chess I see, as usual)

Kirk smiled at her. "Ha, tches rom na' nah-tor, etek tishau." (Yes, chess good for thinking, we like.)

Uhura's eyes twinkle with humor as she asks "Du nah-tor teretuhr i'?" (You think together now?) She takes her usual seat next to Kirk, across from Spock.

Kirk laughs. "Ha." (Yes)

Spock chooses this time to interject his piece, almost simultaneously with Kirk "Ha" with a raised brow.

"Ra ong nash-gad?" Nyota enquires. (What topic today?)

"Wehk ong, u' kwon-sum." Spock answers. (Many topics, as always.)

Right on his heels, Jim says in perfect deadpan, "Ein awek, ein tsatik, (Some private, some secret...) - if you knew what was said we'd have to kill you."

Nyota can't help herself but laugh, '_that laugh_ _sounds a bit hysterical there Ny'_. It was too much watching Kirk do a perfect imitation of Spock, with Spock sitting right there. And then to have Spocks only reaction be to glance at Jim and look smug. '_Have I entered another universe where Spock is totally different?' _She shakes her head to clear it, pony tail swishing around her head like a horses tail chasing flies.

"You have both come quite far this term in your Vulcan language skills. It is frequently difficult language for the human pallet to handle proper pronunciation. However you are both exemplary students in this area. I would recommend you take class with the Cllthylcalct professor to try to understand him without a universal translator." Spock suggests.

Uhura thinks she's seeing things when it looks like Spock has a small smile on his face. Professor Kcalcm teaches astrophysics, there's no way she's taking astrophysics.

Kirk starts making a series of clicks, grunts, squeals, sucking like noises and other various sounds she is sure she can't make which she recognizes as Cllthylcalct speech. She watches Spocks eyes open really wide as he hears him speaking this extremely difficult language. All she understood were the names spoken in standard, so she started to form a picture. "Fascinating. Would you please repeat that in standard for Cadet Uhura."

"Sure. There were several Cllthylcalct families that lived with us Veenans on Tarsus IV. The way they can use their tentacles they were lots of fun to play ball with so we kids got to be friends. They came to be with Hoshi too. If it wasn't for the UT they wouldn't be Federation members." Kirk sighs.

"Most people don't have time to listen to all the subtleties of their language. They just think it's a bunch of noise."

Kirk gives Spock a hard look "I was planning on taking astrophysics, but I don't want to take a professor just to listen to his language. I want the best instructor. You know I want to learn from the best." He gives Spock an affectionate smile.

Uhura speaks slowly then. "Somehow I feel like the elephant in the room."

Spock tilted his head and said in his usual deadpan. "You in no way resemble a pachyderm."

This sends both Uhura and Kirk into laughter, for similar, yet very individual reasons: Uhura because she is certain that if Spock just told a joke she has definitely entered another dimension and Kirk because he knows that Spock really did just tell a joke.

Kirk tries to help her out. "So, Uhura, why are you feeling left out?" He looked at her innocently.

She points between them "You two. What the hell is going on?"

She huffed continuing. "In class you two didn't even acknowledge each other, yet normally you constantly banter when given the chance, even the past month when you've hardly spoken outside of class and tutoring. Now, here, you're like... you're like two peas in a pod. What?"

At the phrase 'two peas in a pod' Spock tilts his head and looks at Kirk who mouths the words 'very close' to him and shows him crossed fingers. As Spock nods Nyota says shrilly. "That shit is exactly what I'm talking about!"

Jim thinks Uhuras reaction to them is hysterical and has had enough fun for now teasing her so he decides to be a little more straight forward, but only if...! "Alright Uhura, I'll tell you what's going on, but only after you tell me your first name." His eyes are twinkling and he is smiling his 'lady killer' smile.

She huffed and sputtered before retorting.

"Oh shit, I'm sure you could find out any time you wanted, because I know you can hack into computers. You know it's just been a matter of principle Kirk." She smiles at him and reaches out her hand "I'm Nyota".

Jim takes her hand, grinning. "Please, call me Jim. Around here the name Kirk calls up the image of my dad. I'm me, not him. So, please, call me Jim." She nods.

"Ok now. That was the easy part..."

Jim goes on to explain the bond to Nyota. At first she is shocked, but as she thinks about the things that Jim says, with Spock interjecting for clarification, she recalls things over the past weeks that should have been signs if she would have been observant.

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	9. Chapter 9 Hell Can be Many Things

**Standard Disclaimer - I don't own anything Star Trek, nor am I making any money here.**

**Apologies for how long it took to get this updated, but I wrote a one shot story in this universe that I can't let out yet. It has too many spoilers. Once we get past the major spoilers I'll publish it.**

**Thank you to all my loyal readers & reviewers. Special thanks to anyone new who comes along and becomes a reader. It's going to be a fun ride.**

**Thanks to T'Arrah for being my Beta! Mistakes are mine.**

**Some angst coming in the next couple of chapters!**

Chapter 9 - Hell Can Be Many Things

It was the end of a long day but to Jim it was going to be longer still. Even though the couple things he still had to tell Spock weren't life and death like yesterday, it was still pretty emotional stuff, especially concerning David.

They were sitting on the sofa in Spock's apartment after dinner. Jim could feel Spock's curiosity from this morning when Pike told him to tell Spock 'the rest'.

Jim took Spock's hands, looking deeply into the pools of chocolate. "Okay Spock, the rest. Nothing life and death like what I've told you so far."

"I'm sure that there are carefully guarded Vulcan secrets." Spock nods. "Well, there are Veenan secrets as well... I'm one of them."

Jim paused to give Spock a moment to think of the few rumors surrounding his mothers planet. Most had to do with the extent of their mind powers; some had to do with their shaman the Shanquat. There was the scariest place in the galaxy, but he wasn't sure any off-worlder ever even heard a rumor about the Ha'Tshi (1). Only one had to do with biology.

A light goes on in Spock's eyes. "You are the third sex?"

"Bingo! I'm s'treu. Although we appear male and are to all intents and purposes are male, we are not male as most societies would believe us. We are more than that because we also can bear children naturally, many times easier than females. Of all the known humanoid species in the galaxy we are totally unique to Veenu. Sure, there are humanoid species where males can carry an auxiliary uterus but they don't function as we do." He smiles in a self deprecating manner. Once he got started he had to plow ahead.

"S'treu have a tendency to be extremely fertile. I already have one unplanned offspring who I will probably never get to meet. You don't have any secret baby carrying compartments do you?" All Jim could think of was to try to make a joke to drain his tension.

"Negative James." Spock replied.

Jim let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and pulled Spock into a kiss. He felt concern bleeding from Spock and he pulled back looking at him questioningly.

"James, I am sorry if it causes you pain, but I would like to know about this offspring."

Jim nodded. "You certainly have a right to know love. Anyway, that's the other thing I have to tell you."

He pauses to catch his breath and to compose himself.

"After Tarsus I'd been on Veenu for a little over a year when I met Carol, she was beautiful, just under two years older than me, very intelligent and I thought she accepted me."

Jim's eyes had taken on a decidedly chartreuse glow. However, the only evidence Spock needed of how much this subject upset Jim was the barrage of emotions coming across their bond.

"After everything that just happened having this beautiful women love me and accept me was fantastic and we formed an adolescent bond. We both took contraceptive shots and waited the two weeks they told us to wait before making love. We were kids, we made love anywhere and any when we could. It was great!" At this point Jim was still looking in Spock's eyes.

"That was until after two years Carol tells me she's pregnant. Now, I was tested before we started the shots they told me my fertility was low. My sperm count was really low and not very mobile. The healers told me they thought it was to due with me being born premature & the radiation in the escape shuttle. So needless to say, I was pretty surprised by the news."

"Anyway, we were both getting our monthly shots, we got them together. Still, she was furious with me, like it only takes one to make a baby!"

Jim's eyes dropped to his hands. "I was more than willing to shoulder the responsibility and raise David with her. However that no longer mattered. Her willingness to accept me and the things in my past had been rescinded."

"I mean, how dare I pass on my genetic material! When her emotions came to me across the bond it was devastating. I was still recovering from Tarsus and then she started to degrade me further after she had acted like she had accepted my faults. It was possible that Carol could have really fucked me up badly, but thankfully my mother felt what was happening to me and caught her as she had me curled in the corner and stunned her. When Carol woke up Mom had us in front of a Shanquat and forced her to relinquish her hold on me before she hurt me anymore."

"After that the petaQ taHqeq (1) refused to have anything to do with me. Blamed me for everything. And because I was a minor at the time he was conceived the courts on Veenu will always take the side of the mother; they're a little backwards that way. I have never been able to see David. Won't, unless I meet him as an adult away from his mother who will likely tell him monster stories about me. There are a few things I know about him: he looks like me because Mom has a geneticist friend who recently saw him. Carol had David tested to see if he carried my TK gene, which, thankfully, he doesn't. He is also a male." Jim ticked off the three things as he spoke.

"Once the contraceptives had left my system, I had them test my sperm again and it was normal for a s'treu; very high sperm count and excellent mobility. They think it was because of having lots of sex. All I know is that I have a son that I doubt I will ever see. No one ever said life was going to be fair." He laughed sourly.

Spock can't stand the self deprecating feelings coming from his mate and pulls him into a hug.

"Maybe the time will come when we will desire children of our own James." Grief, rejection. "Kaiidth. You are who you are. If she could not accept that it is her loss." He lifted Jim's chin so their eyes met, "Taluhk nash-veh k'dular (3) t'hy'la" And gently kissed him.

Jim was in no mood for gentle kisses and grabbed Spock's head with both hands deepening the kiss. As he pulls away he pulls on Spock's lower lip with his teeth, attacking his jaw line with kisses saying a word between each kiss so he is constantly repeating "I... love... you... don't... ever... leave... me" need becoming dominant in his emotions.

Spock decided it was time to move from the sofa to the bed and pulled Jim to his feet while he was kissing him and walking him backward into the bedroom from where Spock made sure to thoroughly explore Jim's body.

They didn't emerge again before morning.

Jim was walking through the wooded area behind the buildings to cross the campus when he felt the more than the usual amount of anger/hate somewhere in the people around him. At least there were people around since it was day and anything that happened would get reported. At least, that was what he hoped.

He got to the section where he had experienced trouble with Cupcake earlier when he felt the bola wrap around his calves causing him to go down. Now that wasn't something he expected at all. The way the bola caught him he was able to stand back up. However, as soon as he picked up the end ball to unwrap the line from his legs he felt the impact of a dart in his neck.

"Cowards! Show yourselves damn-it!" Jim yelled. He could feel the drug beginning to effect him. "Who are you? What do you want with me?"

As he felt himself falling because his legs could no longer support him his mind yelled. _"Spock!" _Before everything went dark.

It was near the end of his first xenolinguistics class of the day when Spock felt Jim's panic. He continued what he was doing with the class while putting 65% of his awareness on Jim.

Jim's panic increased as Spock's awareness of it began to become ? Spock wondered.

He increased his awareness of Jim to 75% and dismissed the class 5 minutes early. He sat down and shifted that awareness to 99% when he heard Jim's panicked mind shout calling him.

Nyota Uhura watched as Spock's concentration on the class slipped until he dismissed the class a full five minutes early. Totally unlike him to be distracted like that unless...

Suddenly he got up and started walking so fast he was almost running. He past her without even noticing that she was still there, so she followed him.

Nyota was glad she was fit because she had to run to keep pace with him as he moved into the wooded area behind the dorms, down into the dell where he stopped.

Spock started to sniff around. Nyota realized he must be smelling for Jim. That could be the only reason he was acting like he was; something had happened to Jim. He remained oblivious to everything except what he was doing so Nyota continued her surveillance of the situation.

Jim came to consciousness slowly. First thing he noticed was the hatred and rage nearby. Then his hearing returned. He could hear mens voices in the background, like they were in another room. He picked up. "Kirk. Freak. Killer." and "Kodos."

A cold chill of fear worked it's way through his body at the name Kodos. What the fuck, Kodos is dead. Must be someone who got away from me and the authorities. Wonderful.

Jim forced himself more awake and took stock of his situation. He opened his eyes and couldn't see anything, it was also very moist and close around his face: loosely hooded. He was laying on his left side on a softish surface, like a thin mattress thrown on a hard floor, arms behind him, he tried to move his hands: cuffed.

His lower extremities were more problematic. He noticed a distinct lack of circulation from his knees down. His feet were pulled up behind him and tied to a rope around his hips.

Jim felt a vibration from the floor. The kind of vibration you only feel from a craft breaking atmosphere. He realized they were taking him off planet, away from Spock, from the new life he was making for himself. He wasn't going down easily.

Jim needed to contact Spock and he could only think of one way. He put all of his very essence into the call. _"Spock, Kodos men, they're taking me off planet."_

Spock picked up Jim's scent in the dell. It was mixed with a chemical compound of some kind, most likely a drug. He followed it in the direction of the space port behind headquarters. Which made him think that perhaps this was a test for Jim to see if he would use his telekinesis to get out of the situation and how violent it would be.

The power of Jim's shout brought him to his knees. Spock grabbed that new thread and wove it into their existing bond as quickly as a thought. _"James, it is a trap. Do not use your telekinesis."_

Jim mentally jumped when he heard Spock reply._ "Spock, a trap?"_

_"From all the evidence your ship took off from the spaceport directly behind headquarters. This would point to involvement somewhere in the Admiralty."_ Spock replied

_"Fuck me. Literally. Thanks Spock. I'll be okay now that I know that. I know what they want from me. I won't let them have it. Taluhk nash-veh k'dular ashayam. I'll see you when they are finished with me."_ Jim replied sadly.

_"Taluhk nash-veh k'dular t'hy'la. I will come for you."_

When Spock looked up Uhura was standing in front of him. "Cadet Uhura, have you followed me?"

"I did Commander. Something happened to Jim, didn't it?" She got right to the point.

"How did you reach that conclusion Cadet?" He was unsure how much to reveal and rather than tell her right out he decided to prevaricate.

"The only thing I know of that could cause a Vulcan to react the way you did is a threat to a bond-mate." She crossed her arms shook her head in such a way as to wave her pony tail and raised an eyebrow.

His respect for her went up another notch. She was a formidable woman. She was also broadcasting her desire to be a trusted friend to both of them.

"We must contact Captain Pike immediately." Spock informed her turning toward the path that would take them towards the building in the Administrative Complex where his office was located.

The man sat in his office it at Starfleet headquarters feeling pride in his accomplishments of the day. He had finally gotten his hands on Kirk! It was no easy accomplishment to get Burkhart and Schmidt out of lockup even being who he was. Sometimes it didn't seem to matter how many stars they pinned on your collar.

The boy must be on the cargo ship by now. On his way to his own personal hell.

The man walked over to the floor to ceiling windows in his office and looked up, day dreaming that he could see the ship. Knowing that in a matter of months Kirk would be his own personal slave; his own personal weapon. He closed his fist and smiled.

When Spock stepped in front of Pike's secretaries desk Dianne knew who it was immediately. She could also tell there was something serious going on by Spock's posture. She looked up questioningly at which point she saw the female cadet standing behind him.

"Ms. Lane, I must see Captain Pike on an urgent matter." As Spock said this there was a sharp edge in his tone not normally present.

She hit the intercom which Pike picked up immediately. "Yes Dianne."

"Commander Spock is out here sir, on an urgent matter." Dianne stated very matter of fact. Stuff went on here all the time. It was Starfleet headquarters after all.

"Send him in then and Dianne..."

"Yes Sir."

"You know the drill."

"Yes Sir." Dianne shut off the intercom and pointed toward the door. "Go ahead in Commander."

Spock was through the door before she finished speaking. Uhura looked at Dianne, shrugged and said, "For him, I apologize." Then followed him in and shut the door.

Spock had obviously started speaking already because she heard Pike. "Slow down Spock and speak in Standard please."

"Cadet Kirk has been abducted and taken off planet. I believe I know where they are taking him and why." Spock repeated in standard.

(1) Ha'Tshi - Veenan - closest translation would be Well of Souls; terrified Jim; used in many ways be the Shanquat, mostly ceremonial, but not all.

(2) Klingon Epithets: petaQ - asshole, bastard, bitch (story context)

taHqeq - is a basic insult to an individuals honor or trustworthiness As Jim meant it in the story it would be 'bitch without honor' if you go word for word, but a better meaning still would be 'honor-less bitch'.

(3) Taluhk nash-veh k'dular - Vulcan - I cherish thee

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**There is a name of a non Star Trek actor dropped in here, first name misspelled on purpose. Any guesses? (As a nod because they starred in one of my all time favorite movies.) Guess the person you get gold stars, guess the film you get cookies too!**


	10. Chapter 10 Where Are We Going Mr Spock?

**Standard disclaimer: Don't own Star Trek. Don't make any money from this. Just having some fun!**

**Thanks to you all for reading and reviewing! Special thanks to T'Arrah my beta!**

**Thar be some angst ahead matey!**

Fun Warning - lots of cursing in Klingon. Jim really likes to curse in Klingon. To him it's an angry language so when he's pissed he'll come up with words in Klingon frequently. Take this as a foreshadowing of things to come. There will be no further warnings of Klingon cursing! :)

Serious Warning - Violence, rape & remembrances thereof to/by Jim. And there will be cursing from everyone but maybe Spock!

Chapter 10 - Where are we going Mr. Spock?

Jim woke up to a boot kicking him in the small of his back. This caused him to attempt to straighten his legs forgetting that his legs were tied to his waist. What he didn't realize was that there was a cable that continued up to his throat and by attempting to straighten his legs he started to strangle himself.

As he struggled to return himself to a position where he wasn't hurting himself, he could hear his captors laughing. "Hey freak, try not to kill yourself. We have plans for you." They laughed harder.

Jim coughed and tried to control his breathing so he wasn't gulping the air. He hated showing weakness in this situation. It would only give his captors power.

Another voice spoke. This one Jim recognized and it caused his blood to run cold. "You're going to hell freak." It was Burkhart's voice, although Jim didn't know his name, that made the hair stand up on the back of Jim's neck. That voice brought back the memories of Tarsus IV to the forefront of his mind. He had been the one giving the orders; he had been the first to try his had at any active torture and always laughed the loudest and hardest.

That voice was burned into his brain: holding down Jim's adolescent shoulders while shoving his adult sized cock up his ass; talking in his ear, telling him how every man in uniform was going to keep fucking him until he gave Kodos what he wanted; and he rubbed the caked and dried blood on Jim's back so the whip scores started bleeding again. Then he took his tongue and began lapping it up.

_'He was the __**fucking vampire**__' Jim remembered. _For several seconds before he could control it, his mind went red with rage. Jim stomped on the rage until it was only smoldering embers.

As he cooled down he found he had to wonder, how had that verengan Ha'DIbaH (1) escaped the killing? Likely by running, he was a coward. Look at how they captured him: a bola around his legs to immobilize him and then drugs to knock him out. bIHnuch! (Cowards!)

Not that he was proud of the killing, but look what happened; here was someone he missed that was supposedly jailed, in a high security Federation prison, now loose. Any of Kodos' men that were captured should have been sent to Rura Penthe!

If they got him out of the Admirals space port, that meant at least one Admiral was probably behind this. Was this a 'test' as Spock thought or something more sinister? Jim would just have to be patient and observe his captors.

He felt someone approach him from behind again and made himself relax, no matter what. However, this time they undid the bindings holding his legs to the rest of his body and he was able to straighten them, which he did very tentatively only to have them yanked back.

"Ha, you're not going anywhere without permission freak." Said the first man.

"Now stand the fuck up." Said a different voice, one he had heard when he first woke.

Jim tried to stand but his legs didn't want to work right away because of how they'd been tied so the man grabbed him by the shoulders and stood him up. However, his knees didn't want to work at first so it took a couple of attempts for him to lock them so he could stand.

They allowed him just enough cable between his feet so could spread his feet to balance himself and shuffle as he was pushed to the wall. He finally got a look at his captors as he was unceremoniously shoved against the wall. The remaining portion of the cable that had connected his legs to his neck was snapped into a spot on the wall.

Jim noticed a second man come up on his other side just as the snap of magnetic handcuffs let go on his left wrist. He had no time to even notice as each arm was manhandled into a cabled cuff on each side.

Burhart stood in front of him, leering, with a remote control in his hand. "Hey freak, with this controller I can control those cables around your hands and throat." To demonstrate he decided to pull Jim against the wall by his throat.

Jim willed himself to calm even as the cable tightened around his throat starting to cut off his air.

"He ain't gettin' mad, like you said 'e would Burky." Schmidt quipped earning him a backhand across the face from Burkhart.

"Told you 'bout names fool." Burkhart spun on Schmidt, yelling, clearly furious. As he did he let off the control tightening the cable causing it to loosen slightly. They continued to argue in lowered voices, moving into the other room.

Much to Jim's relief he found he could breathe easier. With the slightest amount of pressure from his mind he loosened the loop around his neck, stifling the impulse to cough. He found he was finally able to concentrate on listening to the speech of his captors and he found he recognized the other voice and because of that was able to put names with them both: Burkhart and Schmidt.

Burkhart was a real sadist. Kodos had ordered for Jim to be broken. Burkhart had been the trusted Captain to devise the strategy. Schmidt had been Burkhart's right-hand man. They had to have been running when the killing began and they were lucky Starfleet showed up when they did. It was also a good thing that he had recognized his mother or there would likely have been more dead.

Jim's musing was interrupted as Burkhart and Schmidt returned to the room. He decided it was time for him to say something, "I remember you guys now. Burkhart and his crony Schmidt. You were the first two to try any new type of physical torture on me. I especially remember Burkhart raping me while licking blood off my back."

The rage had been simmering at the back of Jim's brain so when he decided to open his mouth it flooded forth. "Joy' puq, raD puq nga'chuq, petaQ, hab sosli' Quch." (2)

Jim laughed because he doubted that they'd understand the gravity of the curses he rained down on them in Klingon. To torture children was much too dishonorable. The children would either be kept if they were old enough to work or quickly executed. But never raped and / or tortured. After what they did the Klingons would have found some very unique tortures for the torturers them before killing them. Jim doubted they ever would have made it to Rura Penthe.

"Spock, sit. You too, Cadet...?" Pike looked at Uhura questioningly.

"Cadet Nyota Uhura, Sir." She said, saluting.

Pike waved her off and pointed to a chair. Throwing a glare at Spock and pointing to the other chair. "And how are you involved in this Cadet Uhura?"

Spock could feel his patience being tested as he lowered himself in the chair next to Nyota as she explained her friendship with himself and James. His control was severely tested when it came to this situation and he was sure that was the reason why Pike was making him wait. So, he waited, not allowing his control to slip.

By the time Pike turned his attention to him however, Spock was grateful for the time because he had reined in his emotional impulses and was calm, once again.

"What happened Spock, when was Jim abducted?" Pike asked, drilling Spock with his eyes to ascertain his emotional state.

"31.47 minutes ago, near the end of xenolinguistics class, which Cadet Uhura is a member of, I felt Jim panic. I was able to devote some of my mind to him while teaching the class, until I felt him call me with the force of his telekinesis behind it. I dismissed class five minutes early and went after him.

"Along with the call there was the picture of a place. I knew where it was and went to that spot where I picked up his scent. Following the scent was easy, as well as the fact that no one tried to hide the fact that they were dragging a 187 pound male, and the trail was heading directly toward the Admirals special spaceport.

"Jim then called to me again, stronger. We were able to communicate telepathically. He told me that he was being taken by off planet by Kodos' men."

Spock now stood and moved so that he was standing in front of Pike who sat on the edge of his desk. "Captain Pike, I believe that they are trying to return James to Tarsus IV in order to break his mind and spirit. However it will not work because I am going to retrieve him, with your help."

Pike stood and backed Spock up, pinning him with his eyes. "What makes you think that they are taking him to Tarsus IV Commander? That place has been abandoned for years."

"It is the presence of Kodos' men. It would be the logical place for men who had been in Kodos employ to take James for the sheer horror of what it would do to him." Spock replied evenly, sure that the only emotion he may have shown was in his eyes.

"Okay Spock. It makes a twisted kind of sense. Now how do you suppose we rescue him from there? I don't mean to sound callous, and that's how it must sound to you. But, Spock, Starfleet is not going to mount a rescue mission for one cadet, as much as it pains me to say that.

"So, let's sit down and think about options. I know for a fact that Jim has allies; such as a very determined bondmate and I know his mother will raise all kinds of hell. As a matter of fact, I'm surprised I haven't heard from her by now." As soon as he spoke those words Pike knew that it would only be a matter of minutes before he received a contact from Winona.

The comm buzzed just as Pike was having those thoughts causing him to jump. "Dianne, don't tell me, let me guess. It's a live comm from Winona Kirk?" He asked sarcastically.

"Why, yes it is Captain. Shall I put her through, sounds like she's expected?" Dianne replied musically, totally unfazed by her boss.

"That would be appreciated Dianne. Put her through to the big view screen please." Pike requested.

Pike patted Spock on the arm before the view screen flicked on presenting them with Winona's face.

"Chris, what's going on with Jim?" Came out of her mouth before it even registered with her that Pike was not alone. She stopped and rebooted before continuing. "I'm sorry Sir, it seems that I caught you at a bad time."

"No Winona, we were actually expecting your call." Pike replied getting a very puzzled look from her.

"Excuse me Chris, maybe I'm dense, maybe I'm just being a worried mother, but what the hell is going on!"

"Seriously Winona, we were expecting your call. This is Commander Spock," Spock nodded and Winona's eyes widened in recognition. "And, this is their friend Nyota Uhura. We are all involved.

"Now, as far as we have determined Jim has been taken off world. He has been in telepathic contact with Spock," Winona was floored by this piece of information. "And he spoke of Kodos' men."

Those last two words _Kodos' men_ sent a chill down Winona's spine. She jumped up and started pacing within range of her viewer.

"No, no, no, NO! They can't!" She yelled and turned back to the viewer. "By the Gods Chris, they are going to take him back to Tarsus IV! We can't let that happen."

Spock spoke up, formal as always. "That was my conclusion as well Commander Kirk."

"Look, Spock these aren't circumstances I would have preferred for us to meet." Winona laughed the same self-deprecating laugh as he heard from Jim, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to raise. "I won't salute if you won't. Just call me Winona, please.

"Now, Chris, I realize Starfleet isn't going to call in the dogs for one abducted cadet. However, I have some favors I can call in with a couple of Veenan Captains. And, Jim is one of their own and a telekinetic s'treu, with a Vulcan ama to boot. I'll get back to you in less than one hour. Kirk out." Winona cut the channel.

Spock turned to Pike and raised an eyebrow and cocked his head preparing to ask about her behavior.

Pike looked at him and smiled. "Spock, that's Winona Kirk. Get used to her. She's your mother-in-law now." When Spock's second eyebrow joined the first Pike chuckled, shook his head and patted Spock on the shoulder.

Burkhart came across the room and backhanded Jim across the face. "Shut the fuck up freak."

Jim spit in his face. He smiled when he saw a good mixture of saliva and blood on Burkhart's face. He really didn't care that it earned him another slam in the face. A long time ago he realized that physical pain could be easily dealt with: if he didn't fight it, he would simply sweat until the endorphins took over.

Burkhart hit the button on the remote that caused the loop around Jim's neck to tighten. Jim wasn't going to allow him to choke him so, with a little concentration he kept the cable from moving and simply stood there.

Burkhart started getting angry. Jim could feel his anger and frustration building as he started hitting the remote against his hand and yelling. "What the fuck is wrong with this fuckin' remote? God damn-it!" He pointed it at Jim repeatedly hitting the button that was causing the mechanics of the device to want to close the loop. However, Jim's mind was stronger and held the workings still.

Jim could feel Burkhart's anger turning to rage and becoming totally irrational. Jim wanted to see Burkhart somehow break that remote, even if it was over Jim's own head. So Burkhart needed to be pushed over the edge.

Jim thought speaking more might just do it; and he certainly loved the guttural sound of speaking in Klingon, it was especially fun to find or make up curses! "HuH, pujwl', veQ, P'Tok. SoH lo'laHbe', Qop gagh." (3).

"I said _shut the __**fuck up freak**_!" Burkhart yelled as he continued frantically pushing the buttons on the remote, trying to get it to work.

"I'll talk if I want to Burkhart." Jim decided to take a conversational tone to see if that would drive him over the edge. "You're human swine, you and your friends. You call me a murderer, yet you murdered innocents. Whereas I killed those, who murdered the innocents."

Burkhart was getting close, Jim could feel it. It sounded like he was growling.

"What are your nightmares like Burkhart, with the blood of hundreds of innocents on your hands? Huh? How does it feel?" Here it comes Jim thought.

As the last words came out of Jim's mouth Burkharts control broke and he turned on Jim. Using the remote as a blunt weapon, he started to beat Jim over the head.

Anticipating the move Jim had erected a crude shield, like,transparent aluminum, around himself. So the majority of the impact was absorbed before it hit him. That didn't matter, however far from perfect the shield was, Jim did accomplish his goal when the remote broke into pieces.

It was less than one hour when Winona Kirk called Chris Pike back. Dianne put her right through.

Chris, Spock and Nyota turned to the viewscreen as Winona's face appeared. "Good news, Captain Surry of the Stivet will assist. The Stivet is a small, fast ship. Warp 6-8 is where they normally set the cruising speed for her. She will do warp 12 in a crunch.

"I got leave approved from Captain Jameson for as long as I need. They're dropping me off at Starbase 4 tomorrow where the Stivet will pick me up the next day and we will head to Earth and should be there in four days." She could hear Spock growling. "Sorry Spock, that's as fast as things move. I want to get him back as soon as possible as well, but it could still be weeks. Remember we're dealing with space distances here."

"Apologies Comma... Winona." Spock corrected himself giving his head a shake, then meeting her eyes once again. "He is my mate in a way that seems to defy time and space. I do not understand." Spock looked at Winona, brows creased, lips pursed, ramrod straight, holding his hands behind his back and fear pouring from his eyes.

"I can explain sometime, but not now. Spock, can you _feel_ him?" Winona asked. If he could, it would be possible he could act as a locating beacon. That could be one of the workings of the ama bond.

Spock closed his eyes and concentrated for several seconds then said "They are near the orbit of Neptune."

Pike walked over to his computer and called up sensors for the traffic in the outer solar system and found that there was one registered transport ship that Spock pointed out. "There is a registered Mazarite transport just closing on the orbit of Neptune. The maximum speed the Mazarite's have been able to achieve warp 5.2. Even with the delay we may be able to meet them in space."

Winona turned her attention from Pike back to Spock. "Spock, do you think you could reach him telepathically?"

"I do not know. Our previous telepathic contact was initiated by James. If we had a full Vulcan mating bond it is likely I could still contact him, but that ability would diminish with distance. I will try to contact him as soon as I am seated." Spock moved to the closest chair and sat.

Closing his eyes, Spock concentrated on the one being in the Universe who had captured his soul. It was easy to follow Jim's emotions through their bond. It throbbed with anger. Spock had to make sure he kept his locked down tight so he didn't add his anger to Jim's.

Spock reached along their bond until Jim's emotions were stronger. At the moment he was smugly satisfied.

_"James." Spock called out. "James, can you hear me?"_

Almost immediately he received his reply. He could almost see Jim in the distance.

_"Spock!" Jim replied, relief in his mindvoice. "Spock do you know where I am?"_

_"I believe so. You are in a Mazarite transport. Your mother has arranged for a Veenan captain named Surry to pick up myself and Captain Pike on Earth and your mother on Starbase 4 with his ship the Stivet. The Stivet should be able to make a much faster speed than that of the transport ship that you are on. Hopefully we will be able to catch you before you reach your destination." Spock filled him in on the details._

_"Spock, you sound like you've figured out the destination." Jim asked quietly._

_"James, if you think about it, you will realize where they are taking you." Spock replied quietly._

_"Tarsus... Now I understand the comment Burkhart made about me going to hell." _

Spock picked up the name. He had to see if Jim knew anymore.

_"James you mentioned Burkhart. I assume he is one of your captors?" Spock questioned._

_"Yeah. Him and a guy named Schmidt. Both of them were pets of Kodos. Burkhart was the one in charge of picking out the tortures they used. Even when Kodos ordered them to change tactics, it was Burkhart's great idea for the gang rape. He went first and Schmidt second. They're both here now." Jim replied._

_"Thank you James." Spock got no reply. "James?" _

It was then that he felt the pain.

(1) verengan Ha'DIbaH - Klingon epitaph - Ferengi dog

(2) joy' puq, raD puq nga'chuq, petaQ, hab sosli' Quch - Klingon - torture child, force child sex, pigs, your mother has a smooth forehead

(3) HuH, pujwl', veQ, P'Tok SoH lo'laHbe', Qop gagh - Klingon - Slime, weakling, garbage, spineless human child. You be worthless, dead, worms eaten as food (best served live)

**A/N - Thanks for reading :**


	11. Chapter 11 No Way Not Again

**Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or make any money from this.**

**My apologies for taking so long with this. I didn't realize that it took almost a month! EEK! I'm doing too many things at once. Bless those of you who can write multiple stories at the same time. I am working on a one shot of the Carol Marcus part of Jim's story. It's pretty long and not nearly through.**

**Thank you so much for your patience with me! **

**Charles Tonne is my original character, so please don't use him without asking first. **

Chapter 11 - No Way, Not Again

Jim's communication with Spock had been broken by Burkhart slapping him across the face to get his attention. When he was satisfied that he had it he kicked Jim in the groin.

During the instant of reaction Jim's knees buckled. The cable with the least amount of give, his body included, until he came to rest against it was the one around his neck. As soon as he felt it he scrambled to get his feet under himself until after a couple attempts, he was standing again.

Jim was just happy at that moment that his gonads were protected, being internal, because that shot hit him just in front of his ch'la (1); just about the spot where a males testicles are located.

Burkhart got right up in Jim's face, so close Jim could smell his nasty breath. He said in a breathy whisper, "That was for being a chatterbox freak. Now shut the fuck up!"

Quiet was fine with Jim because he needed to think. Spock had said they were planning on taking him back to Tarsus IV. Now that he knew that, everything was different. James T. Kirk was _**NOT **_going to allow himself to be taken back there. He had to keep them from going to warp, no matter the cost.

Spock felt the pain in his groin and gasped. When he opened his eyes he found Nyota leaning over him.

"Are you okay Spock? Is Jim okay?" She asked anxiously.

Spock nodded to indicate that both of them were 'okay', that being a word of indeterminate value. Nyota moved back to reveal Pike and the view screen featuring a very worried looking Winona Kirk.

Before Spock could even form a word in his mind Winona was badgering him with questions. "Well Spock? What happened to make you gasp? How is he? Did you tell Jimmy where they were planning on taking him? What was his response? Did he say anything about other men?"

Spock stood, hands clasped behind his back. Only Nyota could see how tightly he gripped them. He looked at Winona, cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow then quietly waited for her verbal deluge to stop.

When she finally took a breath Spock decided to answer. "I do not understand the first question. I gasped because I felt James was kicked in the groin. He seems relatively unharmed. He is now aware of the deduced destination and his response was 'now I understand the comment Burkhart made about me going to hell'. And there was mention of another man named Schmidt. James said he was Burkhart's assistant in everything.

"I would not be surprised, if knowing the deduced destination of the ship would cause James to take some kind of action on his own to prevent that from happening." Spock answered.

Jim used his TK and clipped the cable behind his neck, at each hand and each ankle. He stood as he was while he waited for his moment. Burkhart and Schmidt started a conversation about their favorite methods of producing pain in another person and had stopped paying any attention to Jim.

Burkhart had his back to Jim as they talked. Schmidt was turned partly away from him as well, as if he wasn't worth their attention.

He decided to disabuse them of that notion.

Jim gathered himself as best he could while maintaining the facade that he was still attached to the wall. In one fluid movement he spun from foot to foot kicking each one in the head. Burkhart he hit in the back of his head at the occipital bone snapping his head forward where he fell heavily into the he hit in the temple dropping him on the spot.

Jim checked to make sure they were both alive them moved to find a method of securing them. Looking around he found he was in a cargo container inside a larger cargo hold. He had been secured to the wall using magnetic cabling meant for holding individual pieces packed into the crate.

_'Turnabout is fair play.' _Jim thought, chuckling as he secured his captors the way they had him secured. However he gave them enough cable to sit against the wall.

On the way out he spied a phase pistol on a table and grabbed it. He decided to make his way toward the 'bridge'. Moving out of the container into the hold Jim closed the door.

The ship was relatively small, he had a two choices, left or right. He had a 50/50 chance, turned right, passed several other cargo holds until he reached an open doorway. Holding the phase pistol at ready he peaked around the frame. Sitting with her back to him was the Mazarite pilot.

As Jim moved stealthily into the compartment he heard the comm come alive. "Mazarite transport 05496, this is Starfleet control, you may proceed to warp after you pass beacon x72390 charlie. At your current speed that will be in 2 minutes mark... confirm."

The pilot pressed a button. "Starfleet control, this is Mazarite transport 05496 confirm." She hit the button again and as she sat back she felt the cold of Jim's phase pistol press up against her temple.

"Hi there sweetie. How about this? You turn this ship around. Call Starfleet and get me in touch with Captain Pike. And I'll make sure my Vulcan bondmate doesn't tear you apart, like he will with Burkhart and Schmidt." Jim looked her in the eyes and grinned winningly.

Winona got a chill when she heard Spock make that pronouncement, it having a prescient feel. "What do you mean by that Spock?"

Spock fixed his gaze on the visage of Winona on the view screen. "Simply that I believe James has less desire to return to Tarsus IV than any of us can conceive. And that he will avail himself of any of his mind, as need be, to keep that from happening."

Pike had been observing the exchange between Winona and Spock and noticed that the two were quickly becoming comfortable with one another. He let the two talk and decided to spend some time getting to know how Cadet Uhura was tangled in all of this mess.

Since Nyota knew that Pike recruited Jim she began her story with current time and worked her way backwards to when they first met. When he realized that she had been at the center of circumstances that lead to Jim being recruited into Starfleet he laughed. Just as he was about to thank her Dianne commed him.

"What do you have Dianne?" Pike asked.

"A comm from Jim Kirk for you sir." Dianne said wryly. She had figured out from the inclusion of Spock and Winona that this meeting was likely about Jim.

"Put him on split screen with his mother."

Jim's eyes got big when he saw so many people with Pike, including a split of his mother.

"Wow, hi everybody. You guys putting on a party just for lil' ole' me?" Jim smiled his eyes going right to Spock's, sending feelings of relief and love through their bond.

"Indeed." Agreed Spock, not necessarily speaking about the 'party'.

"Jimmy, you okay?" Winona asked, pausing to look at him as best she could over the comm. She then turned suspicious. Her eyes narrowed, barely perceptibly, and very tactlessly, Winona asked her son. "How'd you get loose?"

Jim gave his mother an exasperated look, fists on hips. "_They_ are fine mother. Senta net, vi schto nasapaln! Artin, ves dostenen et vi. (2)"

He was hoping he had given Spock enough Veenan to get the gist of that so he wouldn't have to remember the details of the conversation. Jim also hoped his mother would chill out.

"I cut my bonds then waited until their backs were turned and knocked them out. They were actually easy to take out. Now they are tethered in the same cargo container. Which, by the way, we will have to cut them out of because I melted the lock just to make sure it wouldn't be easy for anyone to get them out from inside the ship here.

"Me, I'm just peachy." He pointed to the pilot with his phase pistol held, what would have appeared to be careless to most people, but Jim never did anything careless when his life was on the line.

"Our pilot here really didn't think you'd take _my_ call..." Before Jim could finish the sentence the pilot tried for the gun unaware, like Uhura had been, that Jim was not the 'pretty boy idiot' that he could appear to be.

As she moved for the gun he elbowed her in the face hitting her right in the nose. She slumped to the ground unconscious.

"Guess she really was un trustworthy." Jim said sadly, shaking his head. "I was really hoping it would turn out otherwise because Mazarite is not one of my languages. If it was Vulcan or Klingon I wouldn't have a problem."

Pike chuckled at that comment. "Yes, I think we all know of your love of the Klingon language Kirk."

"P'Tok!" Jim said laughing. (Spineless human child)

"I am not spineless, nor am I a child Jim. Watch your language around your betters." Pike replied also laughing.

"Excuse me." Spock broke in, irritated with the lighthearted conversation when his mate was stuck on a cargo ship in the outer solar system with hostiles. "Would it not be wise to have our rescue in line for James before we begin with the illogical humor?"

Jim and Winona started to laugh. Pike looked at them smiling before turning to Spock, but Uhura beat him to the punch.

"Spock, us illogical, emotional beings tend to use humor in intense situations like this to diffuse our own angst. I'm sure we'll get it all worked out pretty quickly." She reassured him.

"And here is where I finally pay my dues. Mazarite is one of the languages I entered the academy having studied because I have a fascination with runic alphabets and theirs is stranger than most.

"Jim, can you draw me the characters at each control? You would need to be very specific with every line." Nyota informed him.

"Well I guess I lucked out to be on this ship than. I can do better than drawings my dear, they have this," Jim reached forward into the camera, then it started moving. "Primitive camera here that is only clipped on the top of the monitor."

"Excuse me." Winona broke in. "I'm needed here and now that I know things are under control I feel a lot better. Jimmy, you get back safe now. I'll be in touch." She broke the connection. The split view screen automatically became full view of Jim's camera which he was attempting to orient on the controls in front of him.

Uhura felt dizzy while she watched the various permutations of the control panel on the view screen. When it finally settled it was upside down.

She smiled as she commented. "Hey farm boy, you've got the camera upside down."

Being a complete wise ass he flipped it over so it gave a view of the ceiling of the compartment. "Is that what you wanted honey?" He asked sarcastically before righting the view.

"That was for the farm boy comment Ny." Jim said as the motion settled.

"Jim, are you forgetting that there are others in the room." Pike said dryly. "Don't we count?"

"Sorry if I made you guys uncomfortable. I suppose if you were bothered there that would make your discomfort collateral damage for when we figure out who the fuck is behind this." Jim started to sound a little bitter as he said the last half of the sentence.

Jim could feel Spock's turmoil, which was being exacerbated by his own flippant humor. "Spock, nam-tor hayal, ek' dungi nam-tor muhl (3). I feel alive right now and humor is one way of expressing it."

In a large office in the Headquarters building The Man just sat and watched the communications between Pike's office and the Mazarite transport. Just enough to know that he had lost this round to the Kirk kid. He would have to be more prepared next time. He had to have that kid and his abilities in his corner before the endgame.

He hit a button on his desk that would summon his aid, Charles Tonne. Charles was new to his service. He seemed nice enough, but he was one of those lackeys who would never get anywhere in the world. The Man laughed at having found the perfect pawn, at least so he thought.

What he didn't realize was that Charles Tonne was a very intelligent man. He was the third child of South West North America (SWNA) Senator John Michael Tonne. Born April 15, 2212, Charles brilliance had him into the command track at Starfleet Academy when his two older siblings were killed on March 22, 2233 on the USS Kelvin.

John Michael Tonne was a _very_ influential man and used that influence to force his son to change career paths from command to one that would keep him behind a desk for the majority of his career because he didn't want to loose another son to space. Now he was a lacky to admirals. The only way he would get into space at this time would be with one of them, as he had done when he worked solely for Admiral Archer.

Thanks to cutbacks he was now working for four of them. One thing his father had taught him was that politics could be very dirty, so he kept journals which included details on orders from each of his bosses.

He thought over his summaries of what his bosses were like on his way to his latest call. They were all very different:

Admiral Jamadish, very young for an Admiral and headstrong Centaurian woman, rather liberal, pro women and pro non-human rights, very intolerant of prejudice;

Admiral Komack, middle aged human male, also headstrong but very conservative, easily angered, extremely ambitious, doesn't like things to get in his way, slimy;

Admiral Archer, aged human male (over 100), pretends to be semi retired, most liberal of all admirals, surprising considering everything he has seen, laid back;

Admiral Nogura, middle aged human male, holds a lot of anger, seems on the surface that he would be conservative in everything, but he is very surprising, ambitious but not in the same way as Komack.

Charles was walking down the corridor when he was struck with a sudden feeling of dark arms reaching for him and pulling him down into nothingness. His vision started to become a tunnel and he had to lean on the wall to keep himself from falling. He felt dizzy and nauseous.

He recovered quickly, shaking his head, wondering what had just happened, he continued down the hall to his destination.

"Thank you for coming so swiftly Charles. That's one thing that I've always liked about you." The Man smiled as he patted Charles on the back depositing a small device on the back of his shirt, that when a trigger was pushed, would inject a small amount of the toxin used by the xi (4) 'octopus' to incapacitate prior to sifting memories.

"Charles, right now I need you more than I ever have before. Something just came to me. I need to show you and of course, I need your utmost discretion until we decide how to tell the others." The Man said smoothly leading Charles to, what appeared to be another panel in his office.

"Do you see that dark spot on the wall to your left Charles?" Charles looked and noted the spot, an "x" drawn on the wall with a magic marker.

"Yes Sir, I see it." Charles replied.

"Touch it will you please."

Charles saw nothing wrong with the request, he had complied with stranger ones since starting his job, however this one gave him goose bumps. Everything in him was telling him "NO". He felt that by touching that spot on the wall everything in his life was going to change.

Slowly, with trepidation, Charles Tonne reached up and touched the spot on the wall which triggered the release of the xi toxin. He slumped to the floor with the dark arms embracing him.

(1) Ch'la - Veenan - organ which covers the vagina in s'treu.

(2) Senta net, vi sto nasapaln! Artin, ves dostenen et vi. - Veenan - After all, you still question! Mother, I am disappointed in you.

(3) Nam-tor hayal, ek' dungi nam-tor muhl - Vulcan - Be calm, all will be well

(4) xi - Pronounced zee. Sentient telepathic cephalopods known by individual group. As they only picture themselves, they have no names. xi, small letter stressed, was the only written word with sound the first contact team was given. Planet was quarantined shortly thereafter because the 'Squids' were found to be quite powerful, able to live out of water, walk upright and impose their will on others.

**A/N: Please review and let me know what you think of Charles. I really want to know because it's the first time I've made a character from scratch and I'd like to know if you have enough background to begin to feel for him.**

**Thanks!**


	12. Chapter 12 The Damned and the Rescued

**Standard Disclaimer: I'm just a poor girl!**

**Wow! This chapter just kind of wrote itself.**

**Thanks to my readers & all those who have alerted/favorited the story.**

**Special thanks to anyone who leaves a Review.**

**BTW, the answer to the question about Pikes assistant was Diane Lane and the movie was Secretariate**

**Warning - This chapter earns its rating! NC-17 M/M sex ahead.**

Chapter 12 - The Damned and the Rescued

Jim sure was glad that he had a friend in Nyota Uhura. She had no problem translating the control panel and he was on his way back to Earth; back to Spock. He was very much longing to get back to Spock. Their bond felt _stretched_ and it was not a very nice feeling.

Once he got the ship turned around, Pike made arrangements for him to be met by a ship with security forces and Spock. Jim couldn't keep visions of Spock ripping the door off the cargo container with Burkhart and Schmidt. The thought of Spock going all warrior because of him made him smile and it really turned him on.

With the pilot firmly secured and no other life forms that he could detect besides the boys in the cargo hold Jim really needed to meditate to clear his head. He couldn't go deep because the Starfleet security guys were due in about a half of an hour, but at least he could slow his racing thoughts.

The ship was set on auto-pilot with alarms for proximity, as well as engines and other important functions set so he would know if anything went wrong. After all, it was designed to be run by a very small crew of no more the four. It was very slow moving; maximum of warp one and one quarter of the impulse of Archer's Enterprise.

The two things they elaborated on in construction were, of course, the cargo holds, with the other being the sensors. They were able to detect objects that could damage the ship from enough of a distance that the pilot could be wakened and the object avoided.

That gave Jim a sense of security that, if a pilot could sleep soundly, he could lightly meditate. He could feel Spock getting closer as he relaxed into a light trance and awaited his arrival.

Blackness was in every space in every atom in his body. Spaces between protons and neutrons were filled with blackness; it so clogged everything that the electrons could barely move in their shells. His life force was suspended in blackness.

Fingers were reaching into his brain putting in events that never happened to him; things he would never/could never do. He screamed but he didn't think anything came out of his mouth; his body was paralyzed. Autonomic functions worked but that was all.

He was being transmuted into someone, something that was wrong; a sick, twisted version of himself. Outwardly he would be the same, and there would be vestiges of Charles Tonne, but he would not be the same man.

As he panicked he felt as though he was drowning. He fought for air, which seemed as thick as water. Every breath he took was harder and harder as he fought, but he knew he was loosing. Gasping, he was lost. All he could do was hope that someone, possibly his father, could see the difference.

Slowly the panic began to quell as he became the new personality emerged.

However, before he was completely consumed by the new 'Charles' and his very existence forgotten, he remembered that he had built a room within his mind for to keep the Admiral's Secrets. Remembering the room caused the door to appear in front of him.

The small part of Charles Tonne that was left whole managed to run and hide in that small room, where he stayed, hidden and undetected. Until the day arrived when there would come the men who would strive save him.

Spock stood at the doors which would open in 11.47 seconds. Outwardly, he appeared calm and in absolute control of his emotions. He was hiding his inner turmoil well. His mate had been taken from under his nose, at Starfleet Academy. It should have been a safe place.

It was extremely difficult to control the rage he felt at those involved in this offense against his James. In addition to those on the ship there was someone in or close to the Admiralty involved. Once he picked up the scent of the corruption, he would work until he had it rooted out. Spock had no doubt that James would be at his side for every step.

Spock felt subtle changes in his inner ear as the air pressures equalized between the two ships. James was very close; emotional state: excited... in all ways. If Spock was human he would have sighed.

The doors cycled open and Spock was greeted with the vision of James, standing, lightly backlighted, in his torn, red, academy uniform. His eyes were glowing bright blue with the emotions Spock felt through the bond.

When Jim saw Spock nostrils flare, knowing that he was smelling him, he felt his body temperature rise and more of his blood move south. It amazed him how he found such a little thing like that so hot.

Security officers entered first, the lead pair walking past Jim into the ship, phaser rifles at the ready. The commanding officer stopped in front of Jim blocking his line of sight to get his attention. "Lt. Commander Fontnoy here to rescue you Mr. Kirk. Where are your kidnapers being held?"

Jim noticed the man behind him held a plasma cutter and he smiled. "I'll take you there in a minute, after I say hello to Spock."

He stepped around Fontnoy with ease to find that Spock was right behind him and found himself enveloped in strong Vulcan arms.

"I didn't think you'd go for the public display of affection ashaya!" Jim whispered into Spock's ear with a little laugh.

"I am currently emotionally compromised by this situation." Spock replied breathing deeply, inhaling his lovers scent. "I will _not_ allow anything like this to occur again!" He growled into Jim's ear causing him to shiver.

"Mmm, that would be wonderful, if it was possible. But, we can't let ourselves become emotionally compromised by each other love or we'll wind up on some Starbase in butt fuck nowhere." Jim stepped back but held two of Spock's fingers in the ozh'esta. Spock nodded.

"Come on, let's go get the bad guy's." Feeling very close to invincible with Spock beside him.

Walking up the hall towards the correct cargo bay Jim could see the first two officers had found the Mazarite pilot and were bringing her down the corridor. He could feel Spock's anger towards her for being a participant in Jim's abduction.

As she got closer Spock began growling. A very different type of growl than Jim had ever heard, it was very menacing.

"Just scare her, my Warrior Vulcan." Jim whispered to Spock. He knew that Spock heard him, even though he didn't acknowledge that he did.

Spock continued to glare at the pilot and his growl got more vicious. He sounded like a cat getting ready to fight, a very large, very angry cat, like a lion.

As they passed the security officers were holding her toward the center of the corridor and she was fighting to get to the wall, away from the Vulcan, who looked and sounded like he was going to kill her.

Once she was gone Jim sighed and relaxed, marginally, knowing that the Warrior Vulcan was going to come out Big Time next.

He stopped in front of the entrance to the cargo bay, took a calming deep breath and opened the door.

The lights automatically flickered on when the doors were opened, revealing several dozen cargo containers of various sizes. Jim lead them to the container in which he had been held. It was obvious where the locks on both the large and small door inside it were fused.

The security officers with the plasma cutters stepped up to the door and started to work on cutting out the lock.

Jim turned to Spock who had been staring intently at the door. When Spock turned that intense stare to him Jim could not help the shiver that ran down his body, raising goose flesh everywhere.

"Soon my love, soon." Jim said to Spock rubbing their fingers together which he hadn't relinquished.

Spock was working very hard to contain his impatience while the security officers cut the lock out of the door. Jim was actually helping, feeding him soothing feelings at the moment rather than excited ones.

Spock should not have been surprised by this because he recalled Jim calling him his 'Warrior Vulcan'. Jim was very aware of his mental state at the moment. He would have to be very careful to keep control of his rage so that he didn't rip the two he was about to confront limb from limb.

When Spock saw the lock fall he calmly walked to the door, holding his hands near where the metal was cut to judge the temperature. As soon as it was cool enough for his hands, reached in, leaned back slightly to put some power behind it and ripped the door open.

Jim could feel the level of fear inside go up exponentially at that. He couldn't help the evil grin that spread across his face.

"Come on Fontnoy, follow us." Jim said ducking in quickly behind Spock who entered as soon as he had the door opened far enough.

He found Spock pointedly glaring at the two men who were tied to the wall of the cargo container. Schmidt was shaking; Burkhart was making a feeble attempt to glare back.

Jim quickly looked around and saw a hand sized metal container. He handed it to Spock who looked at him with a questioning brow. So Jim turned and whispered. "Use it as a hand strength demonstration. Crush it!" Jim made an emphatic fist, as if Spock needed instruction.

Spock returned his glare to the men, held up the container and crumpled it like it was a piece of paper. At the same time he used the growl he had earlier as he said. "Du nan-tor t'nash-veh k'hat'n'dlawa. Uf tor du gish kal-tor nash-veh du ta kup-ha-tor."

Jim was a little bit surprised by the use of the word k'hat'n'dlawa, a very emotion laden word. Before he could utter the translation he noticed growing wet spot on Schmidt's pants with amusement. It must have been that growling tone Spock used.

_'He __is__ extremely menacing when he is like this. I don't ever want that turned on me!'_ Jim thought.

"Would you like to know what he said?" Jim asked. Without waiting for a reply, because he had no intention of not satisfying himself by not giving them the translation; if for no other reason than he wanted to hear it out loud in Standard. "He said, 'you threaten the other half of my heart and soul. How do you expect that I allow you to live?'"

Spock made that pissed off big cat sound again and Burkhart finally had the common sense to look scared.

Jim was angry but he realized he didn't know how much of the anger he was feeling was his and how much was Spock's. He was certain that it was showing in his eyes. Jim would bet good credits that glowing red eyes and a soft voice could be much more intimidating at times than yelling.

Nothing like the present to try.

He walked up to Burkhart so he was right in his face. Looking briefly at Schmidt so he knew he was included, Jim returned his gaze to Burkhart. Speaking very quietly he said, "Look, if I were you I'd come up with some useful information. You know, who you talked to, who set stuff up?"

Jim leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Who got you out of prison?"

He stepped back to give Burkhart a moment to think. Jim also took that time to make sure he stepped out of Burkhart's line of sight, so he could see Spock glaring at him again. Jim decided to join him in the glaring department.

Schmidt looked even more frightened. Jim thought that if he hadn't already pissed himself he would be doing it now.

Jim broke the moment by suddenly clapping his hands causing everyone but Spock to jump. "Here's something we can do that will be relatively painless for you guys. Spock could meld with you and look into your memories of the events connected with your getting out of prison and abducting me. Or, I can turn him loose on your asses for threatening to take me back to Tarsus. I'm not sure who was more angered by that proposition, me or him... So, what's your decision?" Jim gave them the nastiest grin in his arsenal.

Schmidt started to babble. "I... I don't... know... nothing."

"Right, you don't even know how to speak, do you. You're just a fucking idiot aren't you Schmidt. You simply follow along behind Burkhart here. A nice, obedient dog. Yeah, that's what you are Schmidt; you're Burkhart's prized dog." Jim said sadly.

He made an exaggerated sigh as he kicked Burkhart in each shin, hard. Jim hadn't tied them around the neck so they wouldn't choke, so for a moment Burkhart got to experience hanging by his wrists until he got his feet back under himself.

Jim was almost whispering, staring in his eyes, when he said. "Now Burkhart, what about you? As long as you only think about this incident, that is all Spock will be able to see in a light scan of your mind. We need to know who you were in contact with at Command, who got you out of prison. You may not know names directly but voices, pictures, even things you don't realize you know."

Jim could feel the fear coming off of Burkhart in waves. He had him where he wanted him. All he needed was a little push, which Jim was only too happy to provide.

He leaned in very close to Burkhart and whispered very calmly. "Or, I could have you my way with you. A little personal pay back?You've hurt me enough, I could think of a few, colorful ways to hurt you." Burkhart swallowed hard. "What will it be? Me or Spock?"

Jim stepped back noticing the wet spot appearing on the front of Burkhart's pants with some satisfaction. He didn't know what he'd do if Burkhart chose him over Spock.

Burkhart finally spoke. "Okay, okay. The Vulcan can look into my head. _You_ stay the fuck away from me!" He added to Jim.

Spock stepped forward and lifted his hand, as he placed it on Burkhart's meld points he said. "Vesht dungi ma tu nahp nash-veh" (1).

He awoke a bit confused as to where he was. Then he realized he didn't really know who he was. There were beeping sounds so he must be in some kind of medical facility, but where?

Opening his eyes, he saw the grey walls of a medical room. Following the natural light around the room he found the window and saw it had bars on it, so he was also in a cell. What was going on?

The beeping increased with his heartbeat which must have alerted the nurses that he was awake. A common looking red headed human female came in with a security officer at her elbow.

"So, you're awake!" She greeted him cheerily.

"Yeah, but what am I doing here? Who am I?" He asked, scared.

She looked at the security officer who was shaking his head.

"I'm sorry sir, I can't discuss anything like that with you. I can give you water, food and make sure you're comfortable." She smiled apologetically, shaking her red pony tail.

"I'm Nurse de'Mond. I'll be here most of the time during the day. You just push that button there and I'll come. Now, are you hungry?" She was very compassionate.

"Yes, I am. And where is the bathroom?" He asked.

"Oh dear. I'm sorry, it's right over there." She pointed to a door in the corner. "It's not locked because there's no door on the other side. There's also a small water shower inside."

"Let me help you." She offered.

"No. I want to see if I can walk by myself." He got up and found himself steady standing, so he tried walking and found he could walk alright.

Nurse de'Mond and the security officer followed him to the bathroom to make sure he was steady on his feet.

She pointed to a cabinet in the corner of the room. "In there you will find everything you need, towels, new pajamas and toiletries. If you have a problem there's a call button in the shower stall and another between the toilet and sink. We'll be right out here."

He shut the door, walked to the shower cubicle and turned on the water. Waiting for it to get hot he noticed there was already soap and shampoo taps in the shower so he grabbed the other necessities and noticed the water was warm enough and stepped in.

At first the water felt wonderful sluicing over his skin. Then things started to be triggered in his mind and he started to have flashbacks of memories; memories that were of things that felt unnatural to him, yet were memories of things that _he had done_.

_'Oh my God, what kind of monster am I?'_ He asked himself.

Squirting some shampoo in his hair, he remembered making arrangements to get to convicted child torturers/rapists/mass murders out of jail to take one of the survivors of that very mass murder back to the location of the massacre. What a horrendous thing to do to someone.

Why would he do something like that? He searched his mind for a motive and found none.

As he rinsed his hair he found himself starting to shake. He didn't think he could finish the shower and make it back to bed in time before he collapsed. This revelation was too much for him to process.

He shut off the water and tried to step out of the shower but found his legs didn't want to work right. He couldn't even grasp the towel to cover himself before he felt himself falling to the floor.

Lt. Commander Ronald Fontnoy stood to the side and watched one of the most brilliant games of 'good cop/bad cop' he had ever seen play out right in front of him live, unrehearsed. Most security forces or police that he knew at least spoke about what they were going to do before hand. These two just dove right in!

Fontnoy had to admit that at that exact moment in time, he thought Spock was capable of scaring a Klingon. He had been incredibly intense for the trip, like a cocked crossbow.

Kirk getting Burkhart to agree to a mind meld was absolutely brilliant. There could be no lies that way and any evidence collected would be admissible in court.

Spock broke the meld and looked at Jim, then Fontnoy. "There was nothing definitive. His orders were all by voice but it was through a distortion device. There was one name, a Charles. However, that name was only he heard in the background during his last communication."

"I have completed my examination of the prisoners at this time Lt. Commander. I remand them to your custody." Spock nodded to Fontnoy, his face showed a stoic Vulcan.

"Certainly Commander. I'll take over from here. I'm sure you two would like some alone time." He said with a smile.

Spock nodded and they left walking toward the security ship where there were some private quarters waiting them.

By now Jim was practically acting like the teenaged girl he felt like; he wanted to skip down the corridor hand in hand with Spock. He laughed in his mind at the absurdity of the image of Spock skipping, period.

Spock could feel his giddiness and gave him a look along with brow raised in mock disapproval.

When they entered the assigned quarters Spock set the locks then pulled Jim to him in a desperate hug that he had been wanting to do since he arrived. Jim returned it with equal desperation.

Their lips met like opposite magnets that couldn't stay apart any longer. Their bodies lined up perfectly and they could feel each others eager cocks pressing on each other through their pants.

Jim licked Spock's lips and he opened his mouth, their tongues dueled as they explored the insides of each others mouthes. They rubbed together to increase the exquisite pressure on their cocks.

Jim broke the kiss for air and threw his head back moaning. Spock took quick advantage of this to lick his carotid artery in his neck from collar bone to ear so he could feel his pulse quickening.

Spock grabbed the bottom of Jim's shirt and divested him of it in one quick movement. Then doing the same for himself.

While he was doing that Jim rid himself of his pants quickly than dropped to his knees in front of Spock. He started to mouth the outline of Spock's penis through is pants, looking up at his lover. He could feel it get harder as he mouthed along it's length to the tip where he grazed with his teeth causing Spock to groan.

Continuing to rub his face and head on Spock's cock he began to undo the fastenings on his pants. As soon as he could get them off he pushed them to the floor.

Licking his lips, Jim put his finger in the waistband of Spock's black briefs, looked up into his eyes and said in his sexiest voice. "I wonder what's in here?"

He pulled back on the waistband and that's all that was needed for Spock's very erect cock to pop out.

"Now that's what I'm talking about." Jim said as he pushed down Spock's briefs making sure he's stepped out of them. "Nice hot, hard emerald column to suck."

Spock growled. It was a growl of pure Vulcan animal lust and it drove Jim wild.

Jim licked the tip and kissed it; he used his lips and his tongue in every way he could think of to elicit sounds of pleasure from Spock. Finally he sucked that cock in all the way to the root and held himself there until he needed to breath. Spock growling the entire time.

The thing Jim liked best about Spock growling when he was giving him head was that he could feel the vibrations in his mouth and throat. He couldn't even begin to describe what that did to him, except to say that it brought his own animal passions to the forefront. He loved every sensation and taste; especially he loved every sound he drew from his oh so controlled lover.

Spock had to stop him. He wanted to finish inside Jim. Every Vulcan instinct he had strove for a completion inside of Jim in all ways in which he was capable.

Jim looked up at Spock, licking his luscious, rosy lips and found himself pulled to his feet. As he stood Spock pulled him to the bed and laid him on his back, next to a black felt bag.

"Ahh, yes, Spock, please fuck me." Jim begged putting his feet on Spock's shoulders.

"Yes, James, that is the idea behind these proceedings." Spock growled as he reached into the black bag producing a bottle of lubricant.

Spock poured lube on his hands and rubbed them together, coating his fingers heavily. Inserting his first finger was almost enough to undo him. He had to hold his other hand hard on the base of his cock to keep from orgasming.

Fingering that tight, hot channel was delightful to his sensitive fingers. Especially when combined with the aural stimulation of Jim's moans. It put him into what Jim called his "animal zone" where he would claim Jim. In turn this drove Jim crazy.

"Meld with me when you claim me Spock. I'm already yours. Take me. Please." Jim easily reached up, pinching Spock's nipples .

Spock leaned down, placed his hand on Jim's face in his meld points. "Taluhk nash-veh k'dular." (2) He whispered in Jim's ear as he guided his cock into him.

Sensations doubled for them as they each experienced what was felt by the other. Their minds flowed together in a fine mesh. Vulcan nature took over and wove that mesh into a very flexible metal like substance that wove around their existing bond. Thereby completing Spock.

At the moment, however, Jim and Spock were too invested in the physicality of the experience and the sensations that they didn't even notice. Spock rocked into Jim faster and knew he was close. He knew every sensation that Jim was experiencing.

Spock leaned in and bit Jim where his neck meets his shoulder, hard enough to bruise immediately, even draw a little blood.

"Oh... My... Fucking... God... SPOCK!" Jim yelled as he came, as Spock was licking the bruise forming on his neck.

Jim's orgasm triggered Spock's and he buried himself, biting down again. The world turned white for them both.

(1) Vesht dungi ma tu nahp nash-veh - Vulcan - I will have your thoughts

(2) Taluhk nash-veh k'dular - Vulcan - I cherish thee

**A/N - Thanks again for reading! If you can find a word or two to say about the chapter, please leave a review. :)**


	13. Chapter 13 Back at the Academy

**Standard disclaimer - I'm just a poor Piney (Hick from Southern New Jersey USA).**

Wow, Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter! But, you know, as an author, I would always love to have more. :

Constructive critiques welcome (begged for)! I think very hard about every constructive comment made before I decide what to do with it. Big time thanks for those of you who have offered them thus far! My writing has become better because of you!

Kudos to my Beta, T'Arrah. You are the best!

FYI: _/'if it's like this it's talking between bondmates'/_

**Chapter 13 - Back at the Academy**

Jim slowly returned to the world of full consciousness. His brain felt extra fuzzy.

_/'Wow, I think my mind has totally been blown.'/ _Jim thought.

Spock chuckled softly in his mind._ /'I believe that to be the case for both of us.'/_

Jim jumped when he heard Spock in his mind and they were not in a meld.

"Um, Spock, why could I hear you in my head when we weren't melded? Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, I just want to know." Jim inquired.

He could feel Spock's emotions more acutely than previously as well. No, that wasn't it. The reason he thought he could feel Spock's emotions more acutely was that he could hear/feel the thoughts associated with them as well.

"I believe due to the intensity of our lovemaking my Vulcan instincts reached out to complete our bond." Spock's lips were curled in a small smile that Jim realized was reserved for select few special people in his life.

_/'So now I can talk to you in like this?'/ _Jim asked.

_/'Indeed.'/ _Spock replied.

Looking Spock in the eyes, Jim did his best to copy Spock's eyebrow raise. He dropped his voice and said, "Fascinating." As he did he dissolved into laughter.

_/'Oh my Gods Spock, I love you so much. You should have see your face! Your eyebrow has almost crawled up into your hairline. Oops, there goes the other one.'/ _Jim said.

There were tears coming out of the corners of his eyes because he was laughing so hard.

When Jim mentioned to Spock that he had an eyebrow up he felt the other one automatically going up before he could stop it.

"It is a good thing I paid attention to my mothers 'human lessons' so that I know that you are not mocking me." Spock said amusement sparkling in his eyes.

Jim looked intensely into Spock's eyes, his own glowing blue with his love. He reached up and put a hand on Spock's cheek. "Well, I also hope you know that I love you too much to mock you." He said very softly, gently shaking his head.

_/'I only imitate the things or tease you about the things I love the most about you; stuff that's uniquely you.'/ _Jim finished through the bond because there could be no misunderstanding that way.

"Du ashau nash-veh." (1) Spock said as he leaned into Jim and claimed his lips.

When they broke the kiss Jim replied. "Du ashau-tor nash-veh." (2)

"We have two hours until we reach Earth orbit. I propose you sleep and I will wake you in time." Spock suggested, his fingers ghosting over Jim's face and neck sending thoughts of peace, protection and security.

"Mmm, that sounds like a wonderful idea." Jim whispered already succumbing to the sleep his body and mind needed.

T'Pring, Spock's intended, felt their bond break. It had not been painful. However, it was a curious sensation. She was particularly disturbed to realize that the experience elicited an emotional response... surprise. That would need to be processed later during meditation.

There were only two reasons she could think of for the bond to be broken like that. The most probable would be that Spock had died. In T'Pring's mind that was the most likely, because the other possibility was ludicrous; that he had found another mate.

Even though Spock he was vrekasht (outcast) and she did not want children with his flalik (polluted, impure) blood, she did not want him dead either. It was unlikely that a Vulcan female would want his children but maybe some other compatible being female or male.

A male would be the ideal. And there would be no flalik children.

Now she will not have to wait until Spock's time to take Stonn as her mate. There will be no need for ancient ceremonies where males kill for the right to take the female as the prize. No one would have to die that way, this time.

Whatever the reason the bond broke, T'Pring would find out soon enough. She would be attending the Starfleet Ball in May with her family this year. Sarek and Amanda were always in attendance.

The entire ordeal had lasted less than six hours, but to Jim Kirk it felt like six days. He was exhausted. Visions of soft, beds heated by the Vulcan heating machine sleeping next to him had been dancing in his head for a while when Spock's eyes opened. His mouth became disembodied as he said. "T'hy'la, wake up!"

At the same time Jim heard the echo inside his mind.

_/'T'hy'la, wake up!'/_

When Spock's eyes opened like they did, Jim thought it was strange, but when his mouth disembodied, he knew it was _wrong_.

Jim sat up and grabbed Spock by the arms, who was sitting next to him on the bed one hand on his shoulder. "Wow, that was one weird ass dream."

Spock cocked his head and raised an eyebrow before replying. "There was a peculiar Equus africanus in your dream?" He couldn't help the amusement that crossed the bond with the question.

Jim's eyes sparked with inner fire and began to glow with love. Different emotions sparked different colors and the color of love was blue. From the first time he saw how that inner blue glow enlivened Jim's being Spock wanted to cause it again. He supposed it was similar to Jim's desire to cause an emotional reaction in him.

"Why Mr. Spock, if I didn't know better, I would think you just cracked a joke." Jim said with a laugh. "But seriously, it was a strange dream. We were laying on the bed together. That was fine. But then your eyes popped open and your mouth came off your face and told me to wake up.

"Your mouth coming off your face that freaked me right the fuck out! It's highly likely that we will see some strange stuff out there in the black, but I don't think having your beloved's face come apart on you is one of them, well unless we were under the influence of something." Jim had become serious and reached out touching Spock's face.

Spock allowed Jim to explore his face for several seconds to assure himself that his face was going to stay where it belonged. He allowed himself a last moment of distraction before they had to get ready for the ordeal ahead. Soon they would be docked at Starbase 1 and the debriefings would began shortly thereafter.

Spock sat up straight and Jim could tell it was time to get down to the business of why he was awakened.

"It is time to get ready. We will be docking at Starbase 1 in 27.49 minutes."

"Alrighty!" Jim replied, all signs of sleep and strange dreams banished. "I'll be ready in five."

With that he quickly disappeared into the adjoining bathroom.

Jim couldn't believe it. Four fucking hours he had been locked in this debriefing answering a million questions from the Admiralty about what happened. Not a million different questions, the same ones over and over and over! And not _all_ the admirals either, _one_ admiral in particular; Admiral Komack.

Komack was millimeters from being blatantly accusatory with way he was asking his questions. Was the man psychotic to think that he would be complicit in his own abduction? He had absolutely no motive.

However, at the moment it was worth it to be sitting here listening to Admiral T'Pol, who had been arguing on his behalf for the past half hour. Jim thought she still looked striking even though she was over century and a quarter mark.

She stood straight and addressed the assembly, but everyone knew that her words were meant specifically for Komack whom she looked in the eye as she spoke. "How do you think a first year cadet could go about getting two men out of a high security prison? Why would he want to have anything to do with those particular men after their history? Finally, why would that cadet desire to be return to Tarsus IV of all the available places in the galaxy?"

Her voice was typical Vulcan quiet and level, but Jim could detect the sincere emotion behind her words. Jim surveyed the emotional temperature in the rest of the room. Komack was angry; T'Pol was cool; everyone else was irritated. Whether they were irritated at his testimony or Komack being pigheaded, he didn't know.

Admiral Komack kept her eye then raised an eyebrow in a truly mocking gesture. His gaze sharpened as he replied quietly with a smirk. "Well Admiral, that's what I'm trying to determine."

Jim had become very adept at reading Vulcan and he could tell that T'Pol was frustrated and slightly pissed with trying to talk sense into Komack. She had been trying to talk sense into him for a while before her questions and it was like he hadn't heard a word she said. He had the feeling if she had been human she would have been hitting her head against something, if only it was her own palm. Maybe she would simply be sighing, like Archer and Barnett were. Nogura just sat there watching the whole thing like a damn statue.

T'Pol looked around the room and met the eyes of everyone there, including Jim. "Do you not think that the young man has been through enough for one day?"

Archer looked at Jim then raised his voice for the first time. "I for one have heard enough of this dog crap." He pointed at Komack. "Look, Jim, I don't know what you've got goin' on in that mind of yours but I can tell you that this **boy** was _**not involved in his own abduction God damn-it! **_

"Now open your eyes and look at the kid for Christ sake. He looks dead on his feet. Do you realize it's 0200 and I'm no spring chicken? I'll bet the kid hasn't even seen his doctor yet." By the time Archer ended his little diatribe he was on his feet leaning toward Komack.

Jim was in awe as he realized he had just witnessed the reason why Archer was so highly esteemed, still, at something like 140 years old.

It really irked Komack that Archer could call him Jim, but he had to call him 'Admiral'. The only one on a first name basis with him was that damned Vulcan T'Pol. He supposed it had to do with all the years they served together. The service could form quite a bond between people. Well, he didn't get to be an admiral by not knowing which battles to pick and which ones to pass on and this was definitely one of the latter, as was the immediate issue with the Kirk boy.

"Well then, since you are certain, we will defer to your judgment in the matter than Admiral." Komack said dipping his head to the older man.

Barnett announced that they would meet with Spock the following day at 1200.

Christopher Pike, Leonard McCoy and Spock were on hand to greet Jim as he walked out of the room. McCoy had finally convinced Nyota to head off for some sleep around midnight.

He knew Spock was waiting for him but that was it. Because of everything going on Spock had kept his end of the bond quiet and simply offered Jim any support he could.

So, Jim was completely taken by surprise when he was set upon by one very concerned doctor, tricorder in hand. "God damn-it Jim! Leave it to you to get yourself abducted from Starfleet Academy grounds before the end of your first semester."

"Well, hello yourself Bones." Jim greeted his friend, looking around to see who else was there.

He spied Chris and waved allowing Bones to continue his scans. "Captain Pike what are you still doing here in the wee hours of the morning?"

"Making sure my best student is in one piece. And, because your mother would personally flay me if I wasn't here." Pike snorted a laugh as he pulled Jim into an embrace.

"There are things we need to discuss in private; you, Spock and I."He added very quietly, close to Jim's ear. Spock only heard because of his superior hearing.

McCoy had finished his readings. "Well, besides some bruising and a few cuts, you'll be okay. Right now my prescription is sleep. Come on, let's get back to the room."

"No Bones. I'm staying with Spock." Jim shook his head.

"Look Jim, I know you want to be with the hobgoblin but you've got to sleep and not be doing things I don't want to think about." McCoy replied.

"Bones, right now I want to sleep and the only way that is going to happen is with Spock. You don't understand at the moment, and I'll explain, but another time, 'k?" Jim's baby blues were, at that moment, begging his friend to understand.

"Yeah, Jim, alright. You just promise me to **sleep**." McCoy made sure that he not only looked into Jim's eyes when he said that but Spock's as well.

They answered in unison. "Yes doctor."

They all had a little laugh, only Spock's went unheard by McCoy and Pike, being inside his mind.

Pike broke the moment by saying, "I'm going to make sure that you all get back to where you belong safe and sound. As soon as I heard the meeting break up I sent the Valet to get my car. Let's go."

After Pike dropped off the doctor at his dormitory he headed away from the campus.

"Um, Chris, where the hell are we going?" Jim asked.

"Somewhere we can talk without any chance of anyone from headquarters overhearing what I'm going to tell you." Pike replied.

Spock raised and eyebrow, looking at Jim.

_/'I believe Captain Pike may have discovered something while I was retrieving you. And it does not seem to be good news.'/ _Spock said through the bond.

_/'I don't like this either ashaya.'/ _Jim turned as much as he could in his seat belt so that he could face Spock with his body, not just his head, eyes alight from within.

_/'Hey, when we were on that ship and you confronted Burkhart and Schmidt you said I was your k'hat'n'dlawa. That's really romantic k'diwa.'/ _Jim reached out two fingers in the ozh'esta which Spock returned.

Chris Pike drove them over the Golden Gate Bridge into Oakland and took them to a very old, but well kept, row house. He took them inside and turned on the lights and the heat.

"This is a house that a couple of us captains purchased in order to talk about things that we wanted to keep totally confidential. Nobody knows about it except for the select few. You are never to mention this place to anyone. **Am I clear!" **Pike explained to the two men.

They both snapped to attention and saluted as they said, "Yes sir!" All was done in perfect unison.

Pike raised his eyebrow and shook his head as he watched them.

"I don't know what's going on with all this but something is mighty fishy. So why don't we all help ourselves to beverages and take a seat so we can make some plans before we go back." Pike spoke as he walked toward the kitchen and showed them the cooler.

He made himself a scotch on the rocks, Jim gladly joined him in that, also grabbing some water. Spock got a bottle of cold water for himself while Pike went to a cupboard and brought out a bag of snacks and waved a premium, organic dark chocolate bar at him.

"Spock, would you like to have some choco...?" He never got to finish his question as Spock reached out snatching the bar.

"Thank you sir." He said as he began to unwrap the treat.

Jim looked at him. _/'Decided to catch a buzz I see.'/ _He said.

_/'Indeed.'/ _Was Spock's reply_._

Jim started to laugh.

Pike took the scotch bottle and headed into the living room, the younger men following.

"First things first, what happened on that rescue ship between you two; if I'm not mistaken you've bonded from _his_ side now." Pike pointed to Spock.

Jim smiled at Spock who answered. "That would be the correct deduction." He paused and Jim finished. "The intensity of our, um, reunion, kind of sealed the deal."

Spock gave him an eyebrow for use of that particular idiom and got a shrug and a smile in return.

"Okay, I get the picture. That's all I need to know on that subject, thank you." Pike said with a laugh. "Well, with the kind of bond the two of you have it will be difficult to pull that kind of stunt again. I want you to stay aware of each other all the time now.

"I believe what just happened with Jim is an example of something that has been festering in the heart of the Starfleet and the Federation for a long time now. You two are in the thick of it. Don't ask me how I know, but I just know. That's why we're here tonight."

Pike then started a story that took the next several hours. By the time they reached Spock's apartment the sun was just starting to illuminate the sky enough to dim out most of the remaining stars visible through the San Francisco city lights. They had quite a bit to think about.

(1) Du ashau nash-veh - Vulcan - I love you (translated as it is written - you love I)

(2) Du ashau-tor nash-veh - Vulcan - I love you too. (translated as it is written - you love-too I)

**A/N1: All Vulcan throughout the story has been & will be taken from /vld/ for consistency. **

**A/N2: There is now a poll on my profile page. It will be up for the next three chapters. It is asking you to tell me if you have an idea who is behind the abduction. The results will be blind for those three chapters so no one can influence anyone else. It's for me to see if I'm being too obvious, or not obvious enough. So, Please go take the poll, PLEASE!**


	14. Chapter 14 The Beginnings of a Plan

**Standard Disclaimer - Blah blah, I only own the shirt on my back! Certainly not Star Trek.**

**Welcome back! Lots of exposition here. Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

Kudos to my Beta, T'Arrah. You are the best!

FYI: _/'if it's like this it's talking between bondmates'/_

Chapter 14 - Beginnings of a Plan

They were sitting in perfect lotus positions, across from each other, knees touching; to the outside observer it appeared that they were simply meditating together. But that was far from the truth. They were actually deep in discussion. There were a lot of things that they had to discuss. First and foremost was the heart of the matter, the admiralty.

_/'I do not think we should discuss the issues involving the admiralty aloud T'hy'la. With all that Captain Pike said, I would not put it past whoever it is to have introduced, at the minimum, listening devices into both my residence and yours.'/ _Spock told Jim after he had finished describing the debriefing earlier.

_/'With you 100% on that one. First of all, we don't know if it's just one, two or all of them. There are a couple I just _do not_ want to suspect. You know? Archer and T'Pol. I just couldn't see either of them being involved in anything that would try to undermine Starfleet or the Federation. Not after everything they've done. But maybe that's Veenan hero worship, I don't know.'/ _Jim shrugged mentally.

_/'Personally I think it's Nogura. Well, either him or Komack. But Nogura has just been too fucking quiet and Komack is too obvious. _

_/'I think Komack's problem is that he's a bigot and a xenophobe. Neither of us is fully human. We both have mind powers, which freaks out a lot of psi null people, especially humans, because they let their imaginations run away with them. Most empaths don't scare them because a lot of humans are empathic to some degree. But telepaths and telekinetics, well, as Bones says, we can do "mind voodoo". So we scare them. _Especially_ telekinetics. _

_/'Then there's the fact that, even though same sex marriage has been a fact of life on this planet for 200 years, there are still way too many homophobes around. And, for all anybody knows I'm the normal male I appear to be, so strictly speaking we're homosexuals in peoples eyes. For those that don't like it, tough shit. They don't have to like it, it's not their relationship. What business is it of theirs?_

_/'Komack probably thinks the only bonus about our relationship is that we can't breed. He has no idea how wrong he is there!'/ _Jim reached out and mentally caressed Spock and allowed his energy to flow across the bond into him where he began to stimulate certain nerve groups from within.

_If_ they _were_ being observed by an infrared camera it would have found rises in body temperature, centered in the groin area. However, there were no observation devices in _Spock's_ apartment.

_/'K'diwa, when it is your time, we _will_ make babies. Your extreme hormonal changes will trigger opposite hormonal changes in me.'/_ Jim showed him how Veenan males also had a cycle, although it didn't endanger their lives, it worked to ensure pregnancy in who any mated with a s'treu. It did serve it's purpose in saving the species during difficult evolutionary times. Jim gave him an extra, internal nudge and brought his energy back to himself.

They opened their eyes, which were afire with lust, slowly reached across entwined their hands.Spock growled when Jim rolled them backwards. As Jim became horizontal he was able to uncross his legs and he wrapped them around Spock as he pulled him on top.

Amazingly, they did manage to get just enough sleep for Spock to be sharp for his 1200 debriefing.

Admiral Nogura was the antagonist for Spock's briefing. "What is your relationship with Cadet Kirk?"

"We are bondmates." Spock replied simply not expecting this to be the first question.

"How far would you be willing to go to protect your bondmate, Mr. Spock?" Nogura continued.

"As far as was needed." Spock replied.

Nogura leaned forward in his seat, "Hmmm. As far as was needed. Would that include hurting someone?"

"Yes."

"Would that include killing someone?" Nogura continued.

"Only if there were no other way." Spock showed nothing even though he could feel his irritation rising at the line of the questions.

"Would that include lying?" Nogura smirked as he asked this question trying very hard to provoke an emotional response. As Spock realized that was exactly why he was asking these questions and his blood instantly cooled.

"No Admiral, it would not. Vulcan's do not lie."

"But, _Commander_, you are not fully Vulcan, are you?" Nogura sneered nastily.

"No Admiral, as you are well aware, I am half human. However, I was raised with Vulcan values in a Vulcan society, as a Vulcan. My blood is green, not red." Spock had many years of practice not rising to that particular xenophobic taunt.

Admiral Archer broke in, raising a white eyebrow. "Heihachiro, what, may I ask, is the purpose of this line of questioning in a debriefing? Seems pretty xenophobic to me." Archer's bones were hurting that day and he had no time for that kind of crap, he felt every minute of his age.

"I'm just trying to get to the bottom of the jar here Admiral." Nogura replied smoothly.

Archer huffed. "The bottom of what God damned jar? We should be grateful for their bond because it alerted Commander Spock that something happened to his bondmate. It kept us from loosing an exceptionally bright cadet."

He pointed to Komack. "You and Jim are acting like either, a. you know something you should share with rest of us or b. greedy children.

"At this point I am going to call a 30 minute recess. During that time you will either share your reasoning for this line of questioning or when we resume you will cease and desist." When Archer finished he looked angry.

Nogura nodded. But Komack was more impetuous.

"But Admiral, if we..."

Archer didn't let him finish. "Share those reasons with me during recess Jim, if I feel it's worthy, you can ask. This is not up for debate Admirals." He looked each one in the eye. And said very quietly, each word very deliberately enunciated. "It. Is. An. Order."

It was at that moment that Spock understood Jim's admiration for the man.

Komack opened his mouth. That was enough for Archer. "Jim, I didn't get to be Fleet Admiral by fucking around with subordinates.I'm staying right here if any of you want to speak up." With that he nodded to Barnett who officially dismissed them for their half hour break.

Spock found Jim outside in the sun. It was one of those picture perfect days, a rarity in December in San Francisco and Jim was bound and determined to enjoy it. He was gracefully performing his own mix of martial arts movements. It seemed that Jim used lots of different types all mish-mashed into his own style. He had successfully incorporated many of the human styles of martial arts with moQbara (1) and something Spock didn't recognize that could possibly be a Veenan martial art. He was magnificent.

Jim caught a glimpse of Spock watching him as he moved and stopped in surprise.

Smiling he walked over to his lover. _/'That was awfully quick.'/_

_/'Admiral Archer called a break because Admiral Nogura was asking questions, personal questions regarding our bond. Since Admiral Archer did not think they were relevant he asked that he either be provided with a reason for the line of questions during the break or that those questions cease.'/_ Spock informed Jim.

They fell into step walking side by side.

_/'I said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, that old man is fucking awesome!'/ _Mentally, Jim was jumping and pumping his arms.

_/'Jim, I must tell you that I now understand what you admire in the man. He was impressive in the way he handled Nogura and Komack.'/ _Spock told him.

_/'Thanks k'diwa. I think maybe, I'll go pet some puppies for him for a Christmas present. He has a new litter that will be ready for socializing around that time.'/ _Jim said whimsically.

He continued. _/'So, Nogura today. Hmm. Interesting. I would have thought Komack would have continued his assault. Maybe it's just me he doesn't like. Maybe they're in cahoots.'/ _

_/'Oh, yeah, while you were in there, we got a text on that scrambled PADD that Chris gave us the last night that they have a suspect in custody. An aide to Admirals Archer, Komack, Jamandish and Nogura._

_/'I'll bet good credits that this guy is being set up for someone higher up. If that's the case, it could be for one of the Admirals he was working for or one of the other ones pointing a finger at one of them. There are four more of them that are off world at the moment. Can't rule them out of the big picture just because they missed this one episode. _

_/'I don't know how we can work it out, but let's see if we can figure out some way to get you to meld with this guy. You could see the truth inside his head. What do you think?'/ _Jim asked.

_/'That is an interesting proposition. One that will likely be blocked at all turns. But, none the less, an excellent idea.'/ _Spock paused, distracted for a moment as he thought of Jim 'dancing' through his workout.

With a slight shake of his head Spock spoke again. _/'We should loop back. I spent entirely too much of the break time watching you dance. I shall teach you what I know of suus mahna (2) to add to your repertoire.'/ _Spock replied.

Jim chuckled at the 'dancing' imagery. Then Spock sent him an image of what he looked like and he had to agree that it did indeed look like dancing.

_/'Where did you learn moQbara?'/ _Spock inquired.

Jim was surprised. But he realized he shouldn't be, this was Spock after all. If anyone would recognize the moves, it would be him, or a Klingon.

_/'Same place as I learned most of my Klingon. Tarsus.'/_ Jim started looking down and shuffling his feet as he remembered.

_/'There was a small group of around 157 Klingon refugees from a colony near the Romulan boarder, that came to the colony not long after I got there. Mostly women and children. Kodos gave them a place with us Veenans. We welcomed them. _

_/'Our root belief is that We Are All One. Since everything is made up of the same stuff, every sentient being is brother or sister to the next. Kind of like the Vulcan idea of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations - IDIC._

_/'Anyway, most of the group were kids. Mostly girls, they were shy, but I was persistent and befriended them. There were only about 25 boys and, because the males of my kind deferred to me, I had to fight each one at least once. It didn't take long before we were all good friends. Too bad none of them lasted very long. They got pretty foolish when there was no food and we were starving. They stopped listening to me and they were caught and killed.'/_ Jim concluded.

Spock watched him as he had straightened his back and appeared to be made of steel; the steel of a well forged blade.

Spock was pleased with the rest of the debriefing. Evidently Admiral Archer made his point about keeping questions in the debriefing relevant, because once they resumed Spock's debriefing concluded quickly and efficiently. No further questions were asked, nor references made, regarding the appropriateness of their bond or how it had effected the abduction.

Once back at Spock's apartment they spent the next 2.63 hours going over it with a fine toothed comb looking for any kind of spy device. While Jim went over the furnishings and kitchen, Spock took the walls, ventilation and all personal items.

When they deemed that they had thoroughly scoured the apartment they added their own camera in a corner above the entrance so they would know if anyone entered when they were not home.

Jim then flopped down on the sofa and said, "Let's order pizza or Chinese! Even better, there's a little Vietnamese restaurant a couple of blocks off campus."

He got up and walked over to Spock putting his arms around his waist. "What do you say? We could put on civilian clothes and disappear for an hour or two."

Spock nodded, wrapping his arms around Jim. "That would be agreeable. Although, it is highly doubtful that we will disappear. We will not even be able to become translucent. I believe we will remain substantial." Spock's love and humor surrounding Jim like a glove.

They spent 1.82 hours eating and talking about anything other than Starfleet, politics and Admirals. Just from having had the reminder about Tarsus Jim made sure to get extra food and eat every bit. Spock had to actually remind him to slow down and taste the food because it was not going any where.

After diner Jim insisted on taking Spock shopping for some more appropriate San Francisco winter gear than Starfleet issue, for him specifically. After walking a couple more blocks off campus Jim led him into a small shop that sold hand crafted weather gear. Most humans would easily mistake the materials for silk, leather or suede. However, they were all made of off world materials.

A Ferengi dressed garishly in a black tuxedo with a frilly yellow shirt and a fat lime green bow tie with a big purple dot on each bow approached and asked, "How may I be of service today kind sirs." He had gold name tag on his left lapel which read 'Max' in silver letters.

Through the bond Spock felt Jim trying not to laugh out loud and since Jim brought him to the area where there were capes he made an assumption. "We are here to look at capes."

"Yes, well you couldn't have come to a ..." Max began but Spock's attention was diverted when Jim spoke through the bond.

_/'Sorry love, but his garish dress is unbelievably funny and I'm afraid if I talk I'll start laughing and won't be able to stop. So, if you wouldn't mind, ask him to show us the _Trinatorna_ worm silk capes.'/ _Jim suggested still working on getting a hold of his humor.

Since the Max was still talking about the virtues of his store, Spock cut him off. "Mr. Max, could you please show us capes made of Trinatorna worm silk."

Max's eyes opened wider for a second before he said. "Ah, discerning customers. Right over here."

He led them to a rack in the back of the store which held some capes. It was difficult to ascertain their exact color. At first glance they appeared to be a simple brown, but then you could see hints of yellow, green, blue, purple, orange and red as well. But Spock knew that when you mixed the three primary colors together you got brown, the primary and secondary colors should become muddied. This color was fascinating.

Jim picked up one of the capes and threw it over Spock's shoulders, fastening the clip. It was extremely light weight.

_/'Go look in the mirror Spock.'/ _Jim suggested.

When he did he was surprised to see that the cape worked as a type of camouflage. Jim came over and put up Spock's hood, then stepped back. It enhanced the illusion.

Jim donned a cape and stood next to him. "I bet you're starting to warm up inside there too, huh?"

Spock nodded. "Indeed, it is 1.41 degrees C warmer that it was when you put it on me. Is this color a dye? It is most unusual."

Jim laughed a little. "I'm sure there are dye makers on lots of planets trying to figure out how to replicate this color. No, it's the color of the silk strands. It's amazingly tough too. It wont' stop a shot from an energy weapon or a bullet, but it can deflect a knife.

"The Trinatorna silk worm is from a neighboring system to Veenu. I've been trying to find a place to get a cape since I got out to San Francisco. I found Max's store on the net."

Jim wanted to buy them both. Spock insisted that he could purchase his own. Jim explained he wanted to give him a gift. Having a human mother, Spock understood giving gifts to those you love. Therefore they compromised and bought each others capes.

Because of class schedules it was two more days before they were able to search the apartment shared by Jim and Leonard McCoy for spy devices. When they did, they were shocked. They found and removed five cameras from the living room and three audio only devices from Jim's bed room.

When they got back to Spock's apartment Jim shut the door and said, "Well that cracks it Spock. Who ever it is, they are after me, personally. There was nothing in Bones room and nothing in your apartment."

"I fucking hate this!" He yelled.

Then he got quiet. "What's the point of being paranoid when they really are after you." Jim's expression became resigned as he snorted. "Well, just fuck me.

"Hey Spock, where do you want these?" Jim held out the handful of tiny spying devices they had found.

Spock gave him an oddly amused look, said "I have the perfect container." turned and left.

When he returned he was holding an obviously fake, eye, approximately the size of a large grapefruit. "One of my students gave this to me. He failed my computer programming class and was doing poorly. He decided to leave Starfleet before he was asked to leave. I advised him it was a wise decision. It turns out I was the only person who did as he is a son of the Senator from Luna.

"In gratitude he gave me this, explaining it was given to him by his brother as a joke, but that he really liked it. The eyeball is a reference to an avaunt guard rock band from the late twentieth century that had a resurgence in popularity in the early 23rd century. No one ever knew who they were. When they performed they hid their identities behind masks of bloodshot eyes."

As Spock explained he showed the eye to Jim. He then pressed a series of spots on the iris area of the eye and the top opened. Inside the eye was white and in blue lettering there were two words in twentieth century English 'The Residents'.

Jim dropped the devices in and Spock snapped the lid closed and placed it back on the shelf in the kitchen where it had been.

Looking at where Spock placed the eye Jim shook his head. "I can't believe I never noticed that thing before. It's not like it blends in with the Vulcan artifacts you have around here."

"It may not 'blend in' as you say, but neither does it stand out when the iris is turned toward the wall." Spock told him.

"Yeah, I guess that's why I never noticed it before. It does sort of just look like an odd rock sitting there, until you look closely at it." Jim returned.

"There's something I've been thinking about this for a while. And with this latest 'incident' I think this just went to the top of my list of things to do. We should make some food while I explain this." Jim said and Spock agreed. They had recently shopped so they were well stocked with fresh foods.

Spock selected the amount of food to cook. He realized a very soon after they started their relationship that food quantities should not be left to the man who had once been starved. There were never any leftovers when there was too much food cooked either, Jim simply ate it. Spock realized that at this point in his life it may not matter, but as he aged and his metabolism slowed, it would be problematic. He would have to monitor his mates food intake.

Spock started by chopping onions while Jim began with the garlic. "When I was working with the Shanquat after Tarsus he told me that I am not a projective empath. But, now that I've thought about it I've can see how my emotional state has effected people around me. I really think he told me that to keep me out of trouble."

"That is a big assumption ashaya. What is your basis?" Spock asked.

"Think about it. Put yourself in his shoes for a minute. You're given the job of being therapist to an unstable telekinetic kid who has used it to kill. He's also a very strong empath. You know exactly what he is; what potential he has, good and bad. You understand how projective empathy works because you are one. All Shanquat are projective empaths. So, you understand how projective empathy can be used as another weapon. The last thing you do is hand this unstable kid another potential weapon. First you want to ensure his sanity and stability. Then _maybe_, you allow him out there to discover it on his own." Jim paused, thinking of exactly what tell him at this point. He put the garlic into a bowl and grabbed the eggplant.

"At the same time as the debacle with Carol, the Shanquat I worked with, a eunuch named T'remel, performed what is called a Seeing on me. I refused to listen to what he read in my mind, my mother did.

"But it didn't end there. Before I could be released from Veenu I had to go to the Ha'Tshi one last time." Jim shivered "I had to go there several times during my stay. The best way to translate that into Standard would be 'Well of Souls'. Which in a way, it really is, because, it contains the souls of all the Shanquat. When it is time for a Shanquat to die they go to the Ha'Tshi, it's a 'bottomless', a.k.a. _really_ deep cave, and 'joins' with the other Shanquat who have lived before him." He used hand quotes to emphasize certain words and phrases.

Jim had been watching what he was doing very carefully, but now he turned his very serious gaze to Spock. "It's a really freaky, creepy place Spock. They really are there; not the way I would choose to become immortalized. Personally I'd feel trapped, never being able to reincarnate. Especially if I had lived my life as a fucking eunuch!" He shivered and grabbed the green peppers.

"Anyway, they performed their own, more detailed Seeing. Thousands of them in my head. It was agonizing. After what felt like an eternity they forced me listen as they told me what they saw. I remember screaming that I don't believe my life is fated. They said it was only certain events, not everything. But they did relent and performed another agonizing procedure called a 'forgetting'. That allowed me to forget either 'until the event has past or you are endangered by an upcoming event and need warning'.

"I've realized that meeting you was one event. I the abduction was one as well. Anything I need to know about it will become clearer over the next couple of days. But right away I became aware that I was correct in my theory that TK is the key in projective empathy. All I need to do is practice. I suppose they 'saw' that by the time this event occurred I would need access to this knowledge."

All the vegetables had been cut so Spock began cooking a favorite human meal of his ratatouille.

"We should get together with our friends, Uhura, Bones, Chekov, Sulu and Scotty and see who is willing to help. Since this is going to involve them giving up some control it might not be comfortable for them, Bones for one. I don't have any idea about the others." Jim shrugged.

Jim set the table and they ate their dinner quietly, contemplating how they should make their new move.

(1) moQbara - Klingon - form of martial art

(2) suus mahna - Vulcan - ancient form of martial art

**A/N: The Poll is still up on my Profile page as to who the bad guy is. Results will be revealed in two more chapters! If you haven't done so now, please, let me know who you think did it is.**


	15. Chapter 15 What the Hell is a 'S'treu?

**Standard Disclaimer - Blah blah, I only own the shirt on my back! Certainly not Star Trek.**

**Welcome back! Lots of exposition here. Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

T'Arrah, You are the best, I don't know what I'd do without you!

FYI: _/'if it's like this it's talking between bondmates'/_

Chapter 15 - "What the hell is a 'strew'?"

Leonard McCoy walked into his apartment, the one he supposedly shared with Jim Kirk, expecting it to be empty as it had been since he had been abducted two weeks previously. He was returning from a very nice date with Areel Shaw from whom he just received the papers that gave him permission to see his Jo Jo during the holiday break.

So, when he opened the door and turned on the light he found Jim sitting on the sofa meditating, he found it as something of a shock.

The light was the trigger that Jim had set in his mind to bring him out of trance. "Hey Bones." He said while the doctor was in the kitchen making himself a drink.

Jim could feel his friends apprehension, he had sensed something was up as soon as he saw Jim in the room. McCoy was not without his own unique special senses, even if he was unaware of them, they were what made him such a good physician. Jim smiled at that realization.

"God damn-it Jim! It's been two weeks since you've been back and not even a hello. You haven't even come by the clinic to let me check to see if you were healed." McCoy started off blustering but slowed down to sounding disappointed.

"I'm sorry Bones, I really am, but so much has happened that these past two weeks they've gone by in such a rush they almost feel like it's only been two days. Seriously." Jim could feel his friends disbelief. "Please Bones, just have a seat and listen to what I have to say."

McCoy nodded and pulled a chair in from the kitchen, sitting across the coffee table from Jim. "I'm all ears."

"After Pike dropped you off that night he took us to a private house and told us some stories. I'm not going to tell you everything, not because I don't trust you, Bones, but because the information is too dangerous, it could get you killed. Pike only told us because I... Am... Involved... We don't know why yet, but my abduction had something to do with it." He felt McCoy's fear spike.

"Well, that fear you're feeling right now, is why you have to be part of our plans for defense." When he said that McCoy started to relax. Jim didn't think that would last long. The true excitement hadn't even started yet.

"Defense is good, Jim, I like that, but why do I get the feeling I'm not gonna' like the defensive strategies?" McCoy replied to Jim.

"Bones I don't care what any test says, you are not psi null." Jim's cheerful reply made McCoy want to weep.

"First of all you should know that nine days ago Spock and I went through this apartment with a fine toothed comb looking for cameras and listening devices. We found cameras out here and listening devices in my room. Your room was clean. We had checked Spock's apartment the day after we got back and his was clean. By this we were able to assume that the devices were planted to spy on me.

"Now, we're taking care of security for you. There is a camera in the upper right corner above the door. You can't see it but I put it there and have assured myself that it does work. It is video only and the feed goes to monitoring equipment set up in my personal PADD. There is one in Spock's apartment as well." Jim leaned forward handing McCoy the PADD, then ran that hand through his hair.

"We just want to make sure no one goes into either apartment unauthorized. I'm really sorry all this is impacting your life Bones. I had no idea anything like this was going to happen." Jim's crystalline blue eyes implored hazel as Jim laid his emotions open for McCoy to feel.

"Thanks for the sentiment but it's done now, so what're your plans?" McCoy's intuition was spot on as usual. Jim was more certain than ever that his friend was unaware he was an empath. He couldn't help but smile inside.

"I need to hone my, as you would call it, 'mind voo-doo' and for that I need the help of my friends." Jim told him earnestly.

"You mean you need human guinea pigs, right? You want to turn your friends into test subjects for your telekinetic experiments?" McCoy was getting excited and each word got louder.

Jim let McCoy feel the full force of how insulted he was when he replied. His voice was very quiet and controlled and his eyes where no longer a warm, welcoming blue, but the cold blue of glacial ice. "Is that truly how you think of me? Am I truly a monster in your eyes?"

McCoy winced and ducked his head. "No Jim, I don't think of you as a monster, I just don't trust mind powers." He slowly lifted his eyes as he spoke.

"Good. I'm glad you don't trust mind powers Bones." McCoy looked at him quizzically as he spoke. "That's why I want you to work with me Bones. I have a set of tools I was born with, just like you do. You have universities and such you can go to to hone your tools, but I have no where to go. I have to teach myself. You don't go into surgery with a blunt scalpel. I don't want to go into battle with a blunt sword.

"You, and our other friends can help me to learn control. Not just telekinetic control, but projective empathy as well." Jim stopped waiting for the explosion that wasn't quite what he expected.

McCoy opened and closed his mouth several times before he said anything. When he did it was very quiet, the quiet of a man who felt betrayed. "Jim, when we first met, on that dammed shuttle, you said you were definitely not a projective empath. Now, you say you are? If you've been lying to me this entire time, how the hell do you expect me to trust you about anything?"

Jim opened himself so that McCoy could feel his honesty without feeling pushed. "When we first met I believed what I told you to be the Gods honest truth. It is what I was told by the Shanquat who worked with me. But, as my mother always said, they hide things for their own reasons. Let's just say I sort of had a 'duh' moment when I worked out that to project the empathy required telekinesis."

They looked at each other for a minute while that McCoy thought that over.

"Okay, I suppose I can accept that. You've mentioned these Shanquat before Jim, what the hell are they? They're shaman or something aren't they?" McCoy inquired.

"Hmh. Sort of. At one time they were everything. Now they are more mind healers and mystics. But in ancient times they were also shaman and healers. They are selected from young males who have high scores for all Veenan mental powers. Then trained."

"Only males?" McCoy could never stop being curious, even when he was suspicious that he wouldn't like the answer.

"Yup. They're the ones with the easily removable testicles." Jim smirked and shrugged as he watched his friend wince.

"Ouch." He said, unconsciously covering his crotch.

They had a good laugh which broke the tension in the room, enabling Jim to make his point. McCoy agreed to help.

Jim also explained that Spock found them an apartment off the campus near the Vulcan Embassy, and they would be moving within the next day or two, due to the threat to them personally.

The door chimes sounded. Jim and Bones looked at each other and shrugged.

Spock contacted Jim through the bond. _/'I am outside to help retrieve your belongings ashal-veh.'/_

Jim walked to the door. "Hey Bones, speak of the devil and he shall appear."

Spock had his head cocked to the side and one eyebrow raised, making him look even more devilish. "I am not red and have no tail. Also, I fail to understand the human desire to equate Vulcan's with your human concept of a demon who steals souls to keep in eternal agony." It was the perfect deadpan Spock delivery.

McCoy had an epiphany, it hit him like a ton of bricks. He took a measured step back and looked at Spock through narrowed eyes, taking in everything about him. Then looked at Jim and said, slowly smiling. "Well, I'll be damned, the hobgoblin _does_ have a sense of humor."

"Told ya'" Jim said with a huge, light up the sun style smile.

It hit Jim as they were leaving that what had just occurred was another of those 'events'. That little piece of disturbing information took a lot of the joy out of the realization that his best friend now understood his mate much better. He would have to meditate on this to see if he could figure out if there was any more significance behind it than the three of them forming a tight friendship.

Admiral's Archer, T'Pol, Nogura and Komack were questioning Charles Tonne for the sixth time and getting all the same answers every time. The story was damning.

He had used Admiral Archer's clearance to get Burkhart and Schmidt out of the high security lock up on the dilithium mines on Triton. Then he got the codes so they could steal Admiral April's flier to get them to their ship. Burkhart and Schmidt were then to be taken to a ship hidden on the fifth planet in the Alpha Centauri. From there they were going to take Kirk to Tarsus IV and torture him in order to break his mind because all humans with telekinetic abilities are insane.

Kirk had to be broken now, before he could hurt others. He should never have been allowed into Starfleet in the first place. He was flat out dangerous. By the time they removed him he was ranting.

Archer was a suspicious man. He didn't like this one bit. First off Archer knew Charles, he had known Charles since he was a child and was long time friends with his father, The Senator, John Michael. Charles was definitely not acting like himself.

Secondly there was Kirk himself. He was not fully human. His mother was Veenan, from whom he inherited his abilities. George was psi-null. Three quarters of the Veenan population was telekinetic to some degree and they didn't go insane. Besides, Jim was that third gender, the special ones. None of Charles reasoning made any sense once you truly understood the target.

He had an idea. "I hear what he has to say and it damns him. However, I don't like his motive." T'Pol raised an eyebrow guessing what her long time friend had in mind. "I think it's weak."

Nogura was taken back by that statement. "But Admiral, telekinetics do go insane with their own power at some point in their lives. Better now, than out in space in a crisis situation that could provoke a war." He began the statement tapping the table. However, as he continued he became more and more emotional until Archer thought he was going to break his finger.

Archer knew one of them would come up with that so he explained Kirk's heritage. "I looked up the Brooks blood line and every s'treu born into the family within the last 500 years has been powerfully telekinetic. They have also lived, quite sanely to ripe old ages.

"Winona Brooks Kirk 'mother' is s'treu, as is her twin brother." Archer's speech was interrupted, just as he was getting rolling, hand quotes included, by Komack.

"What the hell is a 'strew'?" Komack asked confused bungling the pronunciation.

Archer rolled his, looked at the ceiling and mouthed 'why me' before returning his attention to his fellow Admiral. "Veenan's have three genders, male, female and s'treu. All s'treu appear male throughout their lives. However, they are also fully functional females. It was one of those X-linked evolutionary adaptations that was very advantageous to the species. The population has been settled at approximately 35% s'treu for that entire time. From the outside it looks largely male, but really it isn't. Good way to hide your reproducing population. Anyway, it's worked for them."

Komack thought this might be a good time to remind the panel of Archer's service record and potential prejudice. "Admiral, would you mind reminding us about your past with the Veenan's?"

"Oh, so now you want to drag me into this too huh?" Archer glared at Komack. "You know damn well what happened with me and the Enterprise at Veenu. It's covered in basic Federation history classes Jim. That entire region of space was pretty damned important.

"So, what is all this about Jim?" Archer sat back and narrowed his eyes as he continued to glare at Komack.

"Well, _Admiral_, you seem to have some kind of connection to the Kirk boy. You have a lot of knowledge about his family." Komack didn't get to start another sentence.

Archer had enough and he slammed his fist down on the table hard. "God damn-it Jim! Have you been asleep? Everybody knows about George Kirk's son being here. At least half of the academy cadets think he only got in because of George and most of the other half thinks he's been sleeping with faculty. Both rumors are way off base. The kid's a genius and Veenan's don't sleep around.

"I know Veenan's don't sleep around because I spent two years with their people. But I didn't meet Winona until we pulled Jim off Tarsus IV. Quite formidable woman, Winona Kirk, if it wasn't for her I'm not sure how we would have handled the boy. And yes, he was crazy at that time. I think you would've been crazy too if you would've been in his situation. As for what I know about Veenan's you learn a lot about a people when you're helping them defend their planet.

"I have no particular interest in the boy beside the fact that he is brilliant, as was his father. And yes, I understand Veenan's, like some other humans understand Orion's, or Andorian's." Archer finished flexing his right hand. It hurt like hell, especially when he moved his pinky.

"My entire point being that Charles has a very weak motive for his crime. It makes me suspect foul play. I would like to have an independent Vulcan meld with him to verify his story." Archer's request was met with a new round of skepticism from a couple of his fellow admirals who seemed determined to blame everything on the kid. Jon had to remind himself how many of his people were still xenophobic, especially when it came to those species with what humans considered paranormal abilities; sadly some of them were Starfleet Admirals.

When he was finally able to remove himself from the arguing of the other admirals Archer sought medical attention and found out he had a hairline fracture of his fifth metacarpal. He had to laugh at himself; at his age he should know better than to be slamming any of his old bones!

Their new apartment was still on Federation property, but it was technically multi-species Ambassadorial suites. As son of the Vulcan Ambassador to Earth he was entitled to the apartment but he had not used it since he began at the academy. Spock had always been satisfied with whatever he had. However, they had needed to get off of the Academy grounds immediately and this apartment was available and safe.

Both of them thought it overly large at 1500 square feet. It had two big bedrooms, two bathrooms (one in the Master Suite), dining room, roomy kitchen and a huge living room. It came fully furnished. They even had a king sized bed in the Master Suite. All they had needed to move in were their own personal effects.

Spock had agreed, somewhat reluctantly, to host a small party celebrating 'Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice and the end of the semester' all at the same time. The only events termed 'party' that he had attended with his parents had still been very formal events in the way they attired, how they comported themselves and what was expected of him. Spock's memories of 'parties' were not of what he would have called enjoyment in any way.

Jim kept telling him that it would be fun because it would only be friends and it certainly wasn't going to be formal. The guest list included a dozen guests maximum: Nyota and her room mate Gaila Vro (plus potential dates), McCoy and Areel Shaw (they were a date), Hikaru Sulu and his constant companion and charge Pavel Chekov (plus potential dates), finally, the Scotsman was bringing a date named Karen Tracy.

One of Jim's favorite things about the apartment was that it came with an extensive entertainment system, large holoscreen, enormous music library from cultures around the galaxy, speakers in every room, and a gaming system. More than anything it was the music library he used. Spock found good deal of human music pleasing to his ear, but most of the days selections had not been in that category.

"James, what are we listening to today?" He asked voice neutral.

"I can tell you don't really like it, but I haven't heard this stuff in ages. It's late 20th century, early 21st century rock and roll. According to iTunes v.29.7, this band, Bush, is a genre of rock called grunge. The other band in this mix, Seether, is post-grunge alternative. I like it because it gets me moving around to get this place ready for tonight.

"Do you want me to put another playlist?" Jim asked really hoping that he would be able to continue listening to this music for a while.

"I am aware of your preference for music of this era. I do not always find it objectionable, nor do I find all of it objectionable." Spock paused. There was a real reason for his unease and he had to speak to Jim about it.

"James, it is not the music that has me unsettled." Spock felt fear from Jim through the bond.

"Well, let's talk about it Spock. What has you unsettled?" Jim replied, pointing to a chair by the table where they were standing.

"I received a comm from my father last night. He wanted to assure himself that I remained alive." Spock dropped cryptically.

"Okay, that was nice of him. Especially since you're kind of estranged, aren't you? And, are you being cryptic on purpose?" Jim looked at Spock, as if he could pry whatever information Spock was stuck on out of his brain with his eyes.

Frustration took over and it happened without Jim even thinking about what he was doing, only that he was tired of Spock being unable/unwilling to tell him personal stuff: **"Tell me Spock."**

Both pairs of eyes opened wide as the command went through to Spock loud and clear. "He heard from T'Pring's parents offering him condolences on my death. They assumed I was dead because the bond between T'Pring and I was severed."

"Wow, sorry Spock. I seriously need to work on emotional control. That was a really fucked up to figure out for sure I could do that." Jim shook his head, looking at his beloved. "Well, I guess we broke the bond between you and T'Pring that time after you rescued me, huh?"

Spock nodded his agreement.

"Well, so now what's up with Sarek?" Jim asked.

"At the end of the Spring term there will be a Gala. He and mother will be there. As will elder T'Pau and T'Pring's family. After the event Lady T'Pau will assess our bond. If she determines that, it is as I believe it to be, a T'hy'la bond, our bond will be blessed and formalized." Spock left the other alternative hanging.

"However?" Jim asked with dread in his heart.

Spock didn't even want to think of the other possibility because it would kill him. He swallowed. "If T'Pau determines that the bond is not a T'hy'la bond my father has requested that it be forcibly dissolved and that I be bonded to T'Pring so that we can have 'proper' Vulcan children."

Jim's eyes were as wide as they could possibly be as he answered. "I will **not** allow that to happen."

**A/N 1: Any other Trekkers out there who know the relationship between Scotty and his party date 'Karen Tracy' from TOS?**

**A/N 2: Final chapter for the poll which is on my profile page. Thanks! Results will be revealed with the next chapter!**


	16. Chapter 16 Not What Sarek Had in Mind

**Standard Disclaimer:**** I don't own anything connected with Star Trek, and I'm not making any $$ on it. I'm just a Trekker & a Geek.**

**Answer to the question regarding the TOS relationship between Karen Tracy and Scotty is that he was accused of killing her in the episode 'Wolf in the Fold'.**

**NC-17 M/M Action here. If you hadn't already figured out this is a slash story and you don't like slash stories DO NOT read.**

**Thanks to all my loyal readers and to everyone who takes the time to write a review. **

**Extra thanks to those who took the time to go to ** ~rubyhair** if you go there now results are visible.**

**T'Arrah, I couldn't do this without you! Thanks just doesn't cut it sometimes!**

Chapter 16 - Not What Sarek had in Mind (hehehehehehe) **************************************************************************

Before saying anything else, Jim changed the music to something less dark, a preselected playlist of ambient music, hoping that would be soothing to Spock.

"No way Spock, they can't break the unbreakable. Trying to break our bond would kill us! Your father has no idea what he's talking about. I bet he's never met a Veenan." As he was talking he gesticulated wildly and his eyes were glowing different colors, changing from green to yellow, to blue, to red and finally settling on a golden color.

"Thankfully, you're a possessive bastard, because it saved my life. Well, I'm pretty possessive too! You are mine and there is no way in hell your father will take you from me." As Jim spoke these words his eyes took on the intensity of a predator watching it's prey, causing a shiver of anticipation to go down Spock's spine.

He walked up to Spock and placed their palms together. Luckily Spock was near a wall, because Jim would have backed him across the entire room. Jim pushed Spock against the wall and pinned his hands at his sides.

Their bodies fit together perfectly as Jim claimed Spock's lips. Jim didn't consciously transmit through the bond, yet it came through loud and clear as they kissed. _/'Mineminemine'/_ His erection pressed into Spock's crotch.

Jim's passion lit Spock on fire. Jim had been correct when he told Spock that he had never seen him be possessive. Jim didn't growl but Spock wouldn't have been surprised to hear one.

To Spock it felt as though he was under a spell. He could feel Jim claiming every part of him: mind, body and soul. Spock knew exactly what it was: Jim's projective empathy, and he was determined to enjoy every minute of the experience.

_/'Mine, clothes off, mine'/_

As Spock heard that in his mind, Jim let go of his hands and started ripping at his lovers clothes. Spock helped by removing his own shirts as well as Jim's since Jim seemed to be incapable of the task.

As soon as there was skin visible, Jim attacked Spock's torso like it was going to be taken from him. He felt he had to touch every exposed cell he could reach with his fingers, lips, tongue and teeth to claim them as his own. His fingers would occasionally graze the top of Spock's pants but no lower.

Spock felt like Jim was worshiping his body. However, it was more primal to Jim. He had never felt threatened before, so he had never felt the need, but it became immediately overwhelming: Jim had to claim his mate; to consume, then to fuck.

Normally the spicy taste and smell of Spock was arousing however at the moment Jim found it intoxicating. Not only could he sense Spock being turned on through his empathy and the bond, but now he could taste and smell sex pheromones on every inch of skin.

It was the taste and smell Spock's arousal brought him to his knees where the odors of arousal and pheromones were strongest. Jim's mind required those pheromones at the moment as much as the rest of his body required oxygen. He put one hand on each of Spock's hips then proceeded to bury his nose in his crotch, inhaling deeply. Jim's hands moved to grasp Spock's ass cheeks pulling him into his face.

Spock grabbed the wall as he became light headed as blood flooded his erection. A moan escaped his lips.

Jim couldn't get enough. He began mouthing the tip of Spock's cock through his pants while trying to undo them.

"Oh, James... Mmmm... Please..." Spock moved his hands to try to assist in unbuckling his belt to have them batted away. So Spock put them in Jim's hair.

Spock watched as Jim unbuckled his belt with his teeth and with assistance from his hands only to undo the button, unzipped his fly. He could feel himself throbbing to be let free and to be inside that wonderful mouth.

As soon as he made sure that Spock's pants were open he looked into his eyes while he put his fingers in the back of Spock's briefs. Jim's golden eyes bore into Spock's brown ones as Jim pulled his fingers around to the front of his briefs. Pulling the elastic open, he looked inside, and licked his lips as Spock's erection popped out, hitting him in the forehead.

Jim rubbed his head and face all over Spock's penis and testicles, to get the scent all over himself. He luxuriated in the feeling of the silky skin of Spock's cock on other parts of his face than his lips.

Jim divested Spock of his remaining clothing then he brought his attention back to Spock's bobbing erection.

Jim brought his eyes down to his target and noticed a big drop of pre-cum on the tip. His breathing deepened as he flicked out his tongue to catch it. He closed his eyes and savored the taste. There was plenty more to be had since Vulcan's small pours covering their entire penis which opened when erect to allow seminal fluid to the surface.

_/'Mineonlymineminemine'/_ Jim was thinking as he was swallowing Spock's cock down to the root. He alternated licking the shaft, teasing the tip, deep throating and licking/sucking on Spock's testicles.

_/'K'hat'n'dlawa, yours, I am yours. Only yours.'/ _Spock thought to Jim; when he could think.

Jim felt Spock getting close so for a moment he backed off. As Jim gazed up into Spock's eyes as he ran the first two fingers of his right hand all up and down Spock's shaft, collecting the lubrication there.

Spock couldn't help noticing Jim's hand. Not just the two fingers, but the entire configuration was correct for the ozh'esta. That, in itself almost pushed him over the edge. He was sure that if it wasn't for the control Jim was exerting over the situation he would have cum by now.

When Jim had determined that his fingers were well enough lubricated he moved them to Spock puckered entrance which he flicked over with his finger tips. As he did he could feel Spock begin to relax. After a circular massage around his anus Jim could feel Spock begin to open under his fingers and took the opportunity that presented itself to insert his middle finger, then his first finger.

Jim swallowed him once more, used his left hand to pump up while his mouth went down and fucked him with his fingers.

_/'Now.'/_ Jim thought and hit Spock's prostate with his fingers and Spock's world exploded in the white out of the most intense orgasm of his life to date.

When Spock returned to himself he found that Jim was holding him up with TK. Jim was standing right in front of him watching, licking his lips and generally looking smug. His eyes were still golden in color, but they were not glowing as intensely.

"You okay to move?" Jim asked, speaking for the first time.

Spock nodded.

Jim released his hold. "Bedroom, on your back. Make yourself comfortable for a good, hard fucking."

Spock turned toward the bedroom and felt Jim following right behind him. He heard Jim take off his shirt and throw it somewhere to their left; civilian shoes were easily left behind one at a time. He also heard him undo the button on his jeans and start to unzip them. When they reached the bedroom, Jim had made it very easy for the remainder of his clothing to be removed.

Jim divested himself of the remains of his clothes while Spock got comfortable. As soon as Jim saw Spock looking at him he stretched sensually, his erection hitting his stomach in it's eagerness to be satisfied. He noticed that Spock was licking his lips in anticipation and had an inspiration that went right to his dick.

He stroked himself a couple of times then collected the generous drool of pre-cum that was leaking out on his first two finger tips and spread it on Spock's lips. Spock sucked Jim's fingers into his mouth to make sure they were clean before licking his lips.

"Oh my Gods Spock. You are so hot and so much mine." Jim almost growled, his voice an octave and one half lower than his normal register. He grabbed the lube out of the drawer in the nightstand and crawled onto his mate to finalize his claim.

Spock felt Jim's need to claim him coming to the forefront of his thoughts along with an almost overpowering lust and beneath everything there was a vast ocean of love. He was enjoying being caught in Jim's seductive web. He watched as Jim slathered his hands in a generous amount of lube using it to coat each of their cocks. Spock had remained erect because Vulcan's have no refractory period.

Jim poured another daub of lube on the tips of his right fingers and proceeded to prepare Spock for his girth. He started with the two he already used, scissoring back and forth, adding a third and spreading him as wide as possible. It was getting difficult to keep himself from simply thrusting in, he decided he better take advantage of his last minute ability to think and enter Spock, now, slowly.

"Look at me k'diwa." Jim requested, his voice breathy and deep.

As their eyes met Jim breached Spock's entrance and slowly sank in both sets of eyes becoming hooded in pleasure until he was all the way in. Slowly he backed out, then he plunged in faster. They both moaned.

They began a rhythm. "Oh... yes... you... are... mine." Jim ground out with each thrust, keeping eye contact.

He hooked the back of each of Spock's legs over his arms and bent down kissing and biting along his jaw. Jim found the spot where Spock's neck met his collar bone and bit down hard enough to bruise.

Spock growled when Jim bit him. His hand instinctively reached for Jim's face and he brushed his fingers over Jim's psi points which pulled their minds together. To Spock, for a split second, it felt as if he had been pulled in through Jim's eyes.

Their melded minds reflected each others sensations back and forth to the other. The bond throbbed in time with Jim as he pounded Spock into the mattress.

They could see each other through their eyes and through the meld simultaneously. They perceived Jim's katra had cocooned Spock's in pale blue gossamer threads while they made love.

The bond had taken on a light golden tint as the possessiveness finally bled out of Jim. However, as they neared orgasm the it began to glow white, as if all impurities had been burned out by their passion. Those pale blue gossamer threads became white and began to glow; brighter and brighter until they became white hot and as they shattered Jim and Spock fell over the edge, yelling each others names.

The fell asleep in each others arms for the next 2.4 hours.

Spock woke with a jolt. His inner time sense told him it was important that he be awake. Everything fell into place in his mind it was 1938 hours and they were having people over for a party at 2100.

He nudged his mate awake. Blue eyes blinked at him, smiling softly. "Hey."

"Hay is fodder for ruminants." Spock returned dryly.

Jim snorted. "Sure 'nuf is. What time is it?"

"1941."

"Shit."

"Indeed."

"Uh, I think we should shower separately in the interest of expediency." Jim said, rolling off the bed and heading toward the bathroom.

"James." Jim found Spock was right behind him.

'Hmm"

"You forgot, there is a water shower and a sonic shower both in this bathroom. We can take separate showers, at the same time... For expediency sake."

Jim laughed as Spock followed him into the bathroom and closed the door so that they could shower before the holiday/end of the semester party tonight.

**A/N1: I have decided to do the party as a separate chapter, for expediency sake. LOL! Really, you, the readers, deserved another chapter and I didn't want to hold this up for another week. Plus, it's really hot. I hope you enjoyed it. ;**

**A/N2: The poll is closed and results are now visible on my profile page. I know more than 34 of you have read the story for three chapters! :(**

**At this point I'm not even going to give you a clue as to whether or not you have guessed correctly because there's a long way to go. At some point, maybe around the middle of the story, I will narrow it down to three for you and run another poll.**


	17. Chapter 17 The Party

**Standard Disclaimer – **I don't own anything related to Star Trek nor make any money from this story. (Picture the trail of tears.)

**Thank you to my loyal readers & reviewers! **My apologies for taking so long with this, I found LOVE for myself after way, way too long. Also, the I thought I wanted to write one thing, but the story wouldn't let me write that. It made me write something else.

**Extra Special Thanks to T'Arrah** my Beta!

Chapter 17 - The Party

Spock was surprised. Although Jim had told him that this party would not be like any that he attended with his parents, he was still pleasantly surprised with the results. The social events he attended with his parents that they called 'parties' were only related to this party with respect to the presence of people, food and intoxicants.

A week prior Jim had received a package from Veenu. It contained two jars. One looked like a blue colored dirt like substance with veins of gold running through it. Jim described it as an incense that was used to calm the mind. He used it during meditation and had been out of it for some time. The second jar was treforn: a plant material that was an intoxicant that you smoked or put in food, offering a different high depending on how it was consumed.

In their short time before anyone arrived, not only had they managed to shower, but Jim had made a pot of hot coca and finished putting out the things he was when they were interrupted by Sarek's message. There would be plenty of chocolate on hand. Bones was bringing a bag of Godiva dark chocolates and Gaila was bringing a specialty Orion chocolate liquor. Jim wanted to make sure that Spock had the opportunity to get as loaded as anyone else.

Jim thought it might be interesting to introduce the group to treforn. When smoked or cooked it was fairly mild and definitely less harmful to the body than alcohol. There was a saying on Veenu: Treforn - You laugh, you cry, you go to sleep. It had been Jim's experience that the saying was entirely appropriate. He had a great family receipt for some exquisite treforn cookie bars, so, they would be available and they could get you pretty loopy depending on how many you ate. Interestingly the dried leaf could be used as a mild truth drug, because people tended to get very talkative under its influence and would simply speak without thinking about what they were saying.

Treforn was not the most fun plant to be consumed raw. The chemical in the leaves was mildly hallucinogenic, as in mild sensual enhancement, but there was another chemical in the sap which was a stronger hallucinogen, meaning someone taking the raw leaves was likely to see colors, patterns and possibly other more substantial things. The Shanquat had a way to prepare it to make it stronger still; along the lines of psilocybin, mescaline or LSD from Earth. T'remel had him take the prepared stuff a couple of times during his recovery and he did not find it a pleasant experience.

Dr. McCoy and Areel Shaw were the first to arrive.

Jim still felt very unsure around Areel, even though she had forgiven him. It didn't keep him from feeling foolish for his childhood prank. But he wasn't going to let that show!

"Bones, Areel, welcome to our new home and to our party!" Jim gestured for them to enter, Spock quietly stood next to him. "Areel, this is my bond-mate, Spock." All he could do was hope that the people who were coming who didn't know Spock were familiar enough with Vulcan's not to offer to shake hands.

Areel put up her hand in the Ta'al which made Jim relax a little about having her there. "Live long and prosper Mr. Spock."

"Peace and long life Ms. Shaw," he replied.

Jim noticed McCoy was trying to look farther into the apartment. "Come on, have something to eat and drink. This place is huge compared to the academy housing. Once everyone is here I'll give a tour."

"Spock, I think this is for you." McCoy pulled the bag with individually wrapped chocolates squares out, handing it to Spock. "It's 70% cocoa, be careful."

Jim laughed. "We're not going anywhere Bones and there's lots of chocolate here. What about you? How're you going home?"

"We're walking you nosy bitch." McCoy grumped.

Jim cupped himself. "Bite me Bones, I am not a dog and I'm not a bitch." Jim laughed patting his friend on the back as they walked into the open living room/dining area.

"No, you're not a bitch... Not yet. But you will be. Just have to wonder how long it'll be before you'll be a bitch to a half-Vulcan. And we'll have lots of little half-Human, quarter-Veenan, quarter-Vulcan babies running around." McCoy teased. "You guys will make really cute babies."

Jim blushed. "Don't know Bones, so I can't say. I doubt it'll be too soon. Right now we're just trying to get through the next couple of years in one piece. A lot will depend on where we get posted. Besides I think that the human genes are pretty weak. Technically both Spock and I may have one Human parent, but both of our genes came out closer to 40% Human. I don't know what weird combination of genetics our kids will have."

Areel looked at Jim with curiosity. Jim noticed and poked McCoy. "Would you please explain what you were talking about to your girlfriend, while I go do other stuff."

Just as McCoy was about to open his mouth to object the door sounded and Jim quickly bounced off to answer it. Jim could hear Areel as he went toward the door, which he saw Spock answer. "Alright Len, I know his mother is not human. That's how he can be a stable telekinetic. But, how the hell can _he_ have children?"

"Well, he's not as he as he appears. He's really partly a she. Perfectly normal for a Veenan because they have three genders and he's one of those. Jim's gender is called a strew." McCoy stated.

Jim winced as his friend totally Anglicizing the pronunciation of s'treu. He wondered if Bones would ever get the hang putting in the proper inflections in words and names with apostrophes or of rolling his R's. He would see if he could get Uhura to teach Bones how to say it.

He was interrupted from his spying by Spock opening the door to let in the rest of the partiers. Sliding into place next to Spock he noticed the smell of chocolate on his lover and smiled.

/'_Been in the heavy duty chocolate already ashayam?'/_ Jim asked Spock through their bond.

/'_Indeed. You did not expect anything else did you?'/_ Spock replied with a mental snort.

"This isn't natural. How did it happen that all of you arrived here at the same time?" Jim asked rocking back and forth from foot to foot in his excitement. He hugged Gaila and Uhura, shaking hands with the guys. Once Scotty introduced Karen he hugged her too.

It was Pavel who answered. "Ve all met up on zee valk across campus. Eet vas very nice."

Jim couldn't help but pick up the affection between Pavel and Hikaru. It seemed to be getting more serious as time went on. Karu really needed to watch his step. Pavel was only a kid. Having parents in Saint Petersburg meant Pavel wouldn't be considered legal until he was seventeen.

Jim stopped cold when he saw who was with Gaila. He felt a chill run up his spine. Next time he had a party he would approve dates!

/'_What the fuck is Gary Mitchell doing here?'/ _Jim thought and Spock picked it up.

/'_Ashaya?'/_Spock queried.

/'_The guy who came with Gaila. I've known him since I was young and he was a homophobe and a xenophobe. Allow me to take care of him. As a matter of fact, now that I think about it I'm pretty sure he was with that gang that was following me around last week with all the slurs…. I have an interesting idea.'/_ Jim was rather pleased with his idea.

Jim pulled Gary aside. "Mitchell, what's a homophobic, xenophobe like you doing here, with an Orion on your arm of all people?" Jim could feel Gary get nervous and defensive.

"That's not me. I'm not like that." Gary said cockily.

Jim narrowed his eyes looking at Gary. He didn't like the emotions he was picking up from him. However, he would let Gary dig his own grave, or not, later in the evening.

"Yeah right, well, maybe you should be more careful how you pick your friends then." Jim wanted to let him know that he was aware that Gary was in that group. "I'll be watching you."

They walked into the open room where everyone else was and Jim asked, "Who would like the grand tour?"

Of course, everyone wanted the tour. They all lived in on-campus housing; in little boxes. Already, the open living/dining area was larger than any of their living spaces. A half wall divided the dining area and the kitchen which was full of modern amenities. On-campus housing provided you with a cabinet, sink, a very limited replicator and a small chiller. Here they had a replicator with a huge menu, multiple cabinets, a hydrogen powered stove with a convection oven and a full sized refrigerator/freezer.

Before leaving the kitchen Jim made everyone drinks. He got out the jar with the remaining treforn powder. With the group gathered around him he explained what he planned. "This is treforn powder from Veenu. It will give us all a buzz above and beyond alcohol/chocolate. It's also in the cookie bars. But I want to start us all off on equal footing."

"Is it legal?" Areel asked.

"I wouldn't put our careers at risk for something illegal Areel." Jim told her indignantly.

She shrugged. "Hey, I'm a lawyer, I had to ask. But I'm game." She said smiling, holding out the mug in which she had hot chocolate. "By the way, this hot chocolate is decadent."

"My mother taught me how to make the real stuff. Not from powder, but from chunks of chocolate, milk and sugar. It takes a while to cook but when it's done, there's nothing like it!" Jim explained as he sprinkled the prerequisite amount of powder into Areel's mug and that got everyone else offering their mugs or glasses.

Jim turned to Spock to ask him to tell everyone about the selection of non Terran food available through the replicator and started to laugh. There stood his incredibly handsome, always stoic husband with his upper lip decorated with hot chocolate residue. Said husband raised an eyebrow in question.

Since all their guests knew they were married Jim didn't think Spock would mind, so he reached up to wipe the chocolate off with his fingers. Spock proceeded to shock everyone by taking Jim's finger, once he had gathered the chocolate, and very sensually licking the digit clean.

Jim gulped and turned bright red; Nyota and Gaila both gasped; Leonard blushed and immediately started mumbling about requiring brain bleach; Areel and Pavel giggled like a school girls; Gary and Karu wolf whistled; Scotty clapped and whooped; finally, Karen looked at all of them confused, like what was the big deal. Karen was a new cadet and hadn't taken xenocultural studies yet, so she didn't have a clue as to just how obscene the scene before her was.

Jim pulled his finger back, flustered; pulse and blood pressure up, as well as little Jimmy making his presence known. "Um, Spock, company."

"I am aware k'diwa. However, I find that, at this moment, I just don't care." Then he did something even more shocking than sucking on Jim's finger in the presence of other people; more shocking than the fact that he used the word k'diwa within the hearing of other people; more shocking even than the fact that he had just used a contraction: he smiled.

Jim smiled and said. "Wow, having chocolate at this gig was a better idea than I thought it was going to be!"

That got everyone to laugh, except Spock who merely continued to grin at Jim like he was the center of the Universe. Jim could feel some people being unsettled, maybe just some _one_. He would figure it out as the evening wore on. As it was, he was going to enjoy every minute of those open emotions he was feeling from his mate. Now he knew that whenever he wanted to have Spock be romantic all he had to do was feed him some really good chocolate!

They continued the tour with the two guest bedrooms and the main bath. Then they showed them the master bath; separate water and sonic showers plus a soaking tub. Everyone ogled and ahhhed over that.

When they returned to the main area Jim put on a mix of music that people could dance to, if they wanted to, _and_ that Spock enjoyed: folk music from around the world, plus some bluegrass and American folk done in a rock and roll style.

Scotty had wanted to bring his bagpipes but Jim had quickly vetoed that notion. Spock was curious, so Jim played him a selection of solo bagpipes. At first he found the instruments production of multiple frequencies of sounds at the same time fascinating until a particularly dissonant part. He then turned to Jim, completely devoid of his earlier enthusiasm, and stated. "While this instrument is fascinating, I can understand why you would not want to have it at a gathering of friends." Jim had laughed so hard he had tears running down his face before he finished.

They had arranged the open space so that the dining area was as open as possible. The table was made in small sections so it could be arranged as needed. They had made it long and narrow and put it up against the wall to the kitchen so that space could be used for dancing. Then the living room furniture was put closer together making that space even larger, while making the living room more intimate.

Jim picked up the tray of cookies and encouraged everyone to eat at least one, telling them, "Go ahead, you'll like it."

"So, Jim, why are you giving us this stuff?" Sulu wanted to know.

Jim shrugged. "Karu, it's a Veenan intoxicant. Thought you might like a taste of what another people use to get high on. One thing is certain, it doesn't deleteriously effect your system in the same way that alcohol does."

"What do ya mean by that?" McCoy asked.

"It's not poisonous like alcohol." Jim looked McCoy in the eyes. "You're a doctor. You know how ethanol effects the body and god forbid you try to drink another kind of alcohol. So you understand how there's only so much ethanol you can drink before your body can't process out the toxins anymore. Cardassians are the only humanoids who can safely drink methanol without going blind from exposure." Jim explained, watching everyone eat their cookies.

"Aye, I donna care about the other stuff. I wan me scotch!" Scotty laughed opening his bottle and pouring himself a glass.

Karen coyly looked up at him and batted her eyes. "Monty, would you mind pouring me some of that Orion chocolate liquor? Please?" She purred as she rubbed up against him.

"Be careful with that stuff Karen." Gaila laughed. "It's got an extra special Orion kick."

Gary pulled Gaila close to him and stated. "Gaila, baby, you've got _the original_ Orion kick!" He buried his nose in her neck sniffing.

Gaila giggled before responding, "Baby, this isn't even a small part of it. If I wasn't taking shots to suppress my pheromones I would have you completely under my spell."

"Oh, I feel like I'm already completely under your spell sweetheart." Gary replied, looking her in the eyes.

"Well, that's good babe, cause I have plans for you." Gaila winked at him very mischievously, rubbing her body up against his as they swayed to the music.

/'_That was an interesting exchange k'diwa. Gary was very sincere in his emotions. I want to hear if that changes in another 10 minutes or so when the last of his inner defenses fall to the treforn.'/_ Jim informed Spock who was now stuck to him like glue.

/'_Indeed, if Gary has not changed from your picture of him, it is possible that he could provide considerable amusement later when he tries to explain his views.'/_ Spock couldn't help but smile at the thought of the young man attempting to defend xenophobic or homophobic viewpoints to _**this**_ group of people.

Knowing he would be shadowed, Jim headed into the living area where he could see Chekov and Sulu deep in conversation.

"No, it's impossible Pasha. You would be permanently spaghettified." Sulu argued.

Pavel shook his head at his friend. "I haf done many equations Karu. And zere ees a vay!" He held up one finger. "First zee black hole must be very new so eet steel has realteevly low mass." Pavel held up a second finger. "Secondly, in order to know ven you vill arrive on zee ozer side, you need to now zee mass to mass ratio. Zis mass/mass ratio may also effect zee amount of time eet takes to travel through zee black hole."

Spock gathered the gist of the conversation and added his agreement with the idea. "I concur with Pavel that time travel through a black hole may be possible, but only under the correct circumstances."

Pavel looked up at Spock in a mixture of shock, embarrassment and awe. "Um, ah, zank you Meester Spock." He sputtered.

Jim winked at Pavel and gave him the thumbs up, happy to do anything to boost the kids self-confidence.

Spock's cool was totally blown in the next second as he tipped his mug of chocolate back for a drink. The mug seemed empty so he tipped his head back to coax any final drops of the precious liquid onto his tongue. As he did so, he overbalanced into Jim knocking them both, very unceremoniously, down. Jim landed on the sofa on top of Sulu. Then Spock landed right on top of them both.

McCoy was immediately on the scene with Chekov right behind him. The rest of the group stood to the side and watched. McCoy wasn't sure if the sounds he heard under Spock were from laughter or pain.

Spock slipped off the pile onto the floor, exposing Jim and Sulu who were obviously laughing. Once they could move, Jim pulled Sulu up as he sat up, then placed his hands on Spock's shoulders, as Chekov and McCoy checked on Sulu. McCoy even produced a small 'pocket' tricorder.

Jim chuckled as he asked his bond-mate. "You okay babe?"

Spock spoke quietly, but everyone heard him. "It would seem I am somewhat inebriated."

The response was immediate. Everyone laughed. McCoy slapped him on the side of his head. "'Somewhat inebriated'?" He mocked. "Spock, if we weren't at your place, I'd flag you."

Leonard paused for dramatic effect, waving his hands in the air. "Somewhat inebriated he says. Jesus Spock, you have a real knack for understatement!

"Now, because this is probably your first time getting hammered, I'm going to be nice to your hobgoblin ass and leave you a hangover hypo. And I can't just leave one for you without leaving one for the infamous infant over here as well." McCoy pointed to Jim, who proved his point by sticking out his tongue. "_They'll_ be in the master bathroom cabinet, labeled according to which one of you it's for."

"That is very considerate of you, Doctor." Spock intoned, as if there was nothing out of the ordinary to see him sitting, splayed out, on the floor, wasted, smiling from ear to ear.

He then tilted his head back to look at Jim and stated. "I was unaware that the treforn and chocolate together would react with my physiology in quite this manner ashayam."

Jim started to laugh, from him it rippled around the room until everyone was laughing, Spock included.

He felt it coming, that strong urge to join everyone else in laughter, almost as if it came from his toes. To Spock, who had never truly known the joyous experience of all out laughter, it felt as if every fiber of his body was ready to participate in the full emotion. He had given into his emotions before, but only in private, with Jim. But now, the combination of the theobromine from the chocolate and janathet1from the treforn had lowered his inhibitions to the point where he did not mind.

As the laughter died Jim suggested, "All this sitting around is dull and boring, this is a party after all. Let's dance!"

Jim had put on a good dance mix from the 1960's to present completely skipping the ridiculous experiment in dance music called 'disco'. And dance they did!

Spock was not particularly big on dancing so for the most part he stayed on the side and enjoyed the site of his t'hy'la gyrating to the music. That was until some slower songs came on and the others wanted to dance with him.

It wasn't so bad when it was Nyota. Spock knew her and that she was not a threat to what was 'his'. However, when Scotty sat out and Karen asked Jim to dance that was too much for him and he jumped in and all but growled at her. "Excuse me, but you cannot have what is _mine_."

Spock gathered Jim into his arms, holding him close. Jim laughed.

Karen did not think it was amusing and got indignant. "What the fuck is wrong with you? All I did was ask him to dance! I didn't ask him to marry me. Besides, a person isn't a possession!"

Jim sighed becoming serious. "Karen, I'm can tell that you haven't had xenocultural studies yet, so I'll forgive your remarks. But Vulcan's are wired differently when it comes to how they feel about their mates being near other people."

Her nose crinkled when he said the word mate which fueled a volatility Jim didn't even realize was near the surface until it exploded into consciousness. "You know, I have a real problem with a couple of things here Karen. First of all it's preconceptions and the second is prejudice."

At the word prejudice her mouth opened and closed again several times as Jim continued to speak. "Preconceptions because not everything here is as it appears and prejudice because I thought people got over homophobia a century and a half ago."

He could feel her disgust, yet overall there was fear. A fear that hadn't been present previously. He had to wonder just what she was afraid of, so he got in her face. Blue eyes boring into her light brown ones, he asked very intently, "Just what is it that you are afraid of Karen?"

She swallowed before she replied. "You're the one. Oh, dear God, I can't believe it. You are the one." And she began to shake and cry, her fear going off the scale.

Now Jim was really confused. He was the one? What? He had to diffuse the situation before it got any worse so he began projecting calmness, yet commanding her to be calm at the same time. When he spoke it was whisper quiet. "Relax Karen, I don't plan on hurting anyone. What do you think I am?"

It seemed his projection only worked so well. Karen's emotions had gone from fear to fury as she recognized who he was. Her gaze was cold when she looked back into his eyes. "You. Are. A. Hellspawned. Murderer." She spat at him then left.

Everyone except Spock watched her leave. He was the only one who noticed Jim's eyes roll up as he felt consciousness leave his body through the bond. Catching his mate before he had moved toward the floor, he called, "Doctor McCoy!"

The doctor turned in his direction and saw him holding Jim. "Bedroom." McCoy replied very happy he had brought that pocket tricorder and a small bag of supplies!

1 Janathet – Veenan – The chemical in dried treforn that gets a being high. Mild hallucinogen.


	18. Chapter 18 Digging in the Dirt

_**A/N: Sincerest Apologies! I made an oops when I was uploading the re-edited chapter 1 which required me to upload the entire story again. That led to a second oops where I put up Ch 17 again for 18. Well, here is the real Ch 18.**_

Standard Disclaimer – I own nothing of Star Trek and make not a penny off of this fiction.

My sincere thanks to all my wonderful readers and those who take the time to review. You know that reviews are a balm to the soul (no matter what they say) and a kick in the muse too!

Special thanks to my Beta Trekkergurl! You are the best!

Chapter 18 – Digging in the Dirt

XXX

McCoy left the bedroom knowing that Jim would sleep deeply, quietly and dreamlessly for the next four or five hours. It hadn't been easy for either Spock or himself to convince the stubborn bastard that he should take the sedative so he would sleep free of any possible nightmares. After all these years, the last thing the kid needed was to have _that_ throw back in his face, especially so closely after his abduction!

_'And, because of that, no doubt Karen Tracy just found herself as a suspect!'_ McCoy thought with wry amusement. _'Worst of all, she's probably totally innocent. Grandma McCoy always warned me that God sure can have a strange sense of humor.' _

He looked up, heavenward, actually at the ceiling, thoughts tinged with anger. _'Although, I don't know why you decided to dump so much shit on Jim Kirk! Damn-it!'_ McCoy didn't realize that as he thought he had growled.

If McCoy had been able to hear them, he would have received the answer to his query. _'To prepare him for what is to come.' _However, the reply did not come from some being on high that everyone called God; it came from the Ha'Tshi who watched over Jim since his birth.

When he finally walked into the main area, he gratefully found everyone had left with the exception of Chekov and Sulu who were sitting in the living room. He could hear Chekov crying softly and Sulu talking to him softly as he walked over to them. McCoy was more sure than he had ever been before that the young Russian had a crush on Jim.

"He'll be alright Pavel." McCoy whispered once he sat down next to him.

Pavel snuffled and blew his nose. "Who vas zat vomen? Vy vas she making zose accusations?"

"I don't know any more about her than you do about her Pavel. She came with Scotty and I bet he doesn't know anything other than she was just another engineering cadet. As for the accusations, you would have to ask Jim and see what he has to say." McCoy knew what she was talking about but it wasn't his story to tell.

"Now, I really think you two need to get out of here and go the hell home." McCoy said gruffly to them ruffling Chekov's hair to take the sting out of his words.

"He's right Pasha. We're not doing any good staying here. They need their privacy right now. Come on, let's go home." Sulu helped him up and pulled him toward the door.

"You are right Karu. Sank you Doctor." Chekov mumbled as Sulu pulled him up and helped him out.

XXX

Spock watched out the window of their apartment as he waited for his inner chronometer to let him know it was 0530 so that he could contact Captain Pike about Ms. Tracy. There was only one _place_ where _that_ particular accusation could have come from; only one set of _events_ that could have engendered that response in Jim.

When most people thought of Tarsus IV, they thought of the surviving nine children from the group selected to be killed. However, there were 1824 others: those who had been in Kodos' select group. All Spock could think of at the moment was a relationship between herself and one of the 50 Jim believed he was responsible for killing.

That begged the question as to whether or not she was not somehow involved in his abduction. Spock did not believe that she was involved based on the fact that she did not initially recognize him when she arrived at the party.

Spock retrieved the special communicator that they had been given by Captain Pike and contacted him just as the sky was beginning to lighten with the beginnings of a new day.

Pike was in his vehicle when he received the comm. He could tell that there was something wrong as soon as he saw the look on Spock's face. "Spock, what happened?"

Spock methodically explained to the captain exactly what occurred at the party. "There is only one incident in Jim's past where he could be accused of murdering anyone. This in turn raises quite a few questions about Ms. Tracy herself."

"It sure does Spock. But it could also answer a lot of questions. I'll get this checked out. How's Jim holding up?" Pike was very concerned for his pseudo son.

"Initially he had episode of extremely low blood pressure causing him to loose consciousness temporarily. He did not want to sleep for fear of nightmares, however, Doctor McCoy and I eventually prevailed upon him to allow the doctor to prescribe a sedative which would allow him to sleep dreamlessly. As you are aware, he is very stubborn." Spock shook his head as he said the last sentence with a touch of humor, feeling love pouring out of him toward his bond mate. "He is currently still sleeping. We have an appointment to see Admiral Archer later to socialize puppies."

Pike laughed, "Yeah, Jim loves animals. He's had a special relationship with those beagles for a long time. Maybe, sometime, he'll tell you the story of his encounter with Jenny. I hope it gets his mind off of last night. As soon as I have any information about Karen Tracy I'll get back to you."

XXX

When Jonathan Archer became a desk jockey he began to breed Beagles. The kennels became a place of solace. Solace, however, didn't seem to be in the cards for Jonathan Archer on that day. He felt like a ton of bricks landed on him sent straight from Tarsus IV.

He had just finished a conversation with Chris Pike about Jim Kirk being accused of being a murderer last night at his party. They both knew there could only be one connection. It seemed that they had found another suspect in Jim Kirk's abduction: a cadet named Karen Tracy.

Chris had done some research and found that she was indeed, one of the 1800 some survivors no one ever talks about. He had also found out that Tracy was a family very loyal to Kodos. So loyal, in fact, of the 27 Tracy family members that lived on Tarsus IV, 25 not only survived, they thrived. The two that did not had been Kodos personal body guards.

When he accounted the horrors he had seen in his life there were two that affected him to the core of his being. The first had been watching the Xindi wipe out the Eastern Coast of North America testing their 'weapon' and the other had been the rescue at Tarsus IV.

_Flashback_

_Jon had always kept in touch with his former command staff. He recalled how excited Hoshi was to be 'retiring', as she called it, to the new Veenan colony. He suspected she would be writing, something. Most people didn't have the ways and means to casually communicate, live, over the extreme distance involved. _He _had them; being an Admiral did have its perks. _

_At first their calls had been weekly. Then, there was a gap in contact with her for three months, and when they spoke it was audio only. He didn't like the way she sounded, even though she tried to say that there was nothing wrong. His gut told him that there was a problem; he felt very guilty for not following up on that gut feeling. There were no more contacts between them after that._

_Jon contacted several Veenan's who he knew had relatives on the colony, including Winona Kirk. Winona shared an unusually powerful empathic bond with her youngest son because of the trauma of his birth. She had been able to feel that something was going on; she felt extreme hunger, fear and protectiveness from him and was worried for him. _

_Three other Veenan mothers who were in Starfleet and also had children at the colony had very bad 'feelings' from their bonds with their children and that was enough for him. It happened that Winona was the second Engineer on the Excalibur under the newly promoted Captain Christopher Pike. Jon chose that ship to lead the rescue. Two of the other mothers, Mara Thrub and Jessica Misch met them at Starbase 3. The third mother, Twala Connover was serving on the Obama which joined them on the way._

_It had been a two week trip, at warp 5, as the Tarsus system was on the border of the Beta quadrant. Jon made friends with the four mothers. Twala became convinced that her son was dead because she could no longer feel any emotion from him. Because of the depth of her bond, when Winona meditated she could get a pretty clear picture from Jim and it wasn't pretty. From what she could get she saw him protecting a group of fellow children living off of scraps in a cave._

_The third day into the journey Winona came to him explaining that she felt Jim get stunned during her meditation the previous night. That now he was being painfully humiliated. She then explained her fears, as much for Jim as for those doing the torturing._

"_Admiral," She began. "You see, Jimmy is a very powerful telekinetic." Her eyes bored into his, as if daring him to take offense. "One of the reasons I sent him to live with my sister at the colony is so that she and her husband could train him. As long as he has control of his emotions he will be fine, but if they break him and he looses control, I fear for the lives of his torturers." _

_Jon knew that the Excalibur could go warp 8, but the Obama was limited to their current warp 5. Warp 8 would cut five days off the journey, so they could be there in six days instead of eleven. He spoke with Pike and Captain G'Dar of the Obama and they made plans that the Obama would rendezvous with them in eleven days. _

_They had been five hours from orbit. He was on the bridge, standing with Pike, as they listened to the communications officer repeatedly attempt to contact the colony to no avail, when Winona stormed in. She stopped in front of them and saluted smartly before speaking. _

"_Excuse me sir, but I thought you should know, Jim has given in to rage. I need to warn you that he must be considered extremely dangerous to anyone who approaches him. It's highly likely that he'll recognize me through all his senses. For everyone's safety, let me be the only one to approach him, I don't want anyone getting killed." Jon could tell that she was deadly serious. _

_Pike had advised him to stay on the ship instead of going down with the landing parties, but being an Admiral he ignored him and went down in the party with Winona and Pike. He just had to see what was happening. He was almost sorry he did. _

_They beamed down into a field just outside of the main compound. The cloying smell of death filled the air. Looking around Jon realized that they were in a field of open, occupied graves. He noticed that one of the younger female members of the away team, obviously from medical, vomiting on the side. Mara helped her back to her feet and they moved toward the compound, security fanned out before them. _

_If they had been expecting resistance, they were pleasantly surprised to find none. Most of the people they encountered were glad to see someone in a Starfleet uniform come to rescue them from the famine. One, surprisingly slightly chubby young girl grabbed Jon's arm and asked if he was going to get 'the bad man' and he told her that they were. At the moment he thought she was speaking of Governor Kodos, but she was actually speaking of Jim._

_As they moved into the Governor's 'palace', along the outside wall they came to a room containing ten men with partial uniforms of palace guards. None were wearing any pants. They were all dead. Only one showed any kind of violence, he had been impaled on a spear from behind. They found a table against one wall with bolts in the walls with partial chains. On the floor they also found bolts with partial chains. Between those bolts on the floor was a puddle of mixed bodily fluids, including blood._

"_Dear Gods." Winona whispered, attempting to hold in her own outrage at what they had been doing to her boy. "This is how they broke him. Oh, Jimmy, I'm so sorry I sent you here."_

_Winona took off following a trail of blood, bodies and emotions. It was all everyone else could do to keep up with her. At first the bodies were single, but as they got closer to their goal they were in two's, three's, several small groups and finally a large group gathered to protect a door. Again, there were no signs of violence on any of the bodies, they were simply slumped were they had once been standing. _

_Jon followed Pike through the door and gasped at the sight and smell that met him. There was blood and tissue everywhere. It was difficult to tell if it had once been human or animal. In the middle of it all stood a nude, emaciated young teen, back to them, blood and tissue splattered on him. However, what was most telling were the lines of blood and 'other' material running down between the youths legs. It was obvious that he had been raped, brutally and repeatedly. His legs shook like he was on the verge of collapse._

_Winona crept into the room whispering, "Jimmy. Jimmy, it's Artin." [Veenan for female mother]_

_Slowly Jim raised his head and turned toward them and Jon saw his eyes. They were glowing red, almost the same color as the blood.__ When Jim realized that it was, indeed his mother, the red glow left his eyes almost immediately and he collapsed on the floor._

_End Flashback_

Now that Pike had shown him a recent photo of Karen Tracy he realized that the young girl who asked him if they were going to get 'the bad man' had been her. Jon was going to investigate an connection between her and any of his fellow Admirals. He also wondered why she hadn't recognized Jim right away. Some piece of the puzzle was missing.

Which brought up Jon's other issue surrounding Jim Kirk: his fellow Admirals; specifically Komack and Nogura. What in the Universe would make them think that Jim Kirk would have himself abducted and taken back to Tarsus IV? Were they daft or something? Had they not read the reports on what was done to him there? Or, was their reaction due to a xenophobic fear of Jim's telekinesis? In many races, telekinetics were unstable, human were no exception, so that could be the case. If that was so, it was totally unacceptable in anyone who thought to call themselves an Admiral in Starfleet!

Additionally, there was how Komack reacted to the issue of Jim's gender. Jon had lost many colleagues during his years in Starfleet, but he'd never seen one come so close to having a stroke in a meeting room as he did when Komack realized that Jim and Spock could have children! He quietly chuckled thinking about the look on T'Pol's face when she turned to him. As always they were on the same page, wondering how the man made it to where he was with so little knowledge of other species.

One thing that Jon had noticed about the kid was that throughout his life he needed to have something to challenge himself with he because he was a restless spirit. If there were no challenges, he got himself into trouble. Here at the academy, Kirk had been an exemplary student during his first semester. His professors actually complained that he had blown any possible grading curve because the kid was absolutely brilliant.

The latest issue he was having with his fellow admirals occurred last week when Kirk and Spock asked to see Charles Tonne, the chief suspect in Kirk's abduction. Both Komack and Nogura were adamant in their refusal. However, there were six of them on the panel. After many discussions, Jamadish, T'Pol and Barnett were all in favor of the visit, so it was four to two and the boys were going to be permitted their visit. He was planning to inform them today.

Entering the kennels, Archer's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Jim Kirk's voice, followed by Spock's. Jon had firsthand experience with Jim's ability with dogs. He had taken some adult dogs and puppies to help anyone needing emotional support of the children to the rescue at Tarsus IV since many of his Beagles had turned out to be good therapy dogs.

Jenny, one of the newly weaned pups, had instantly taken to Jim and didn't leave his side until they were back on Earth. She was later spayed and spent a very happy lifetime as a therapy dog. Jim's empathic ability allowed him to pick out therapy dogs from every litter he visited. However, because of the ease of using her previously removed ovaries, her genetic material had been used very successfully to produce several litters.

Jim turned his head, saw him and waved. Jon saw him smile, but he wasn't so old that he was blind, so he didn't miss the fact that Jim's smile never made it to his eyes.

"Hi Admiral." Jim said casually as they approached.

"Greetings Admiral Archer." Spock was much more formal and offered the Ta'al. "Live long and prosper, sir."

Archer smiled at the contrast between them as he replied. "Peace and long life, Spock." He offered Spock the Ta'al in return.

He walked over to Jim and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright kid?"

Jim looked at Spock, "Does everybody in Starfleet know?" He tried to look like he was angry, but he realized that he actually wasn't. At least he wasn't angry that Admiral Archer knew, because he _knew_.

Spock shook his head. "Negative. It is my understanding only Captain Pike and Admiral Archer have knowledge of what transpired in our apartment last night; outside of those who were present, of course."

Archer put pressure on Jim's shoulder to get his attention back. Once he had blue eyes locked onto his hazel ones he began. "Jim, I was able to piece some things together. When Pike showed me a photo of Karen Tracy it triggered a flashback of the rescue. I remember an almost chubby young girl from the day we got you with the Excalibur. It was her. She asked me if I would catch the bad guy. I thought she was talking about Kodos.

"Once we got settled back on the ships and I had some time I started to wonder why this girl appeared plump when everyone else appeared close to starvation. Turns out the Tracy family was close to Kodos. Her father and her oldest brother were his personal body guards." Jon stopped waiting for them to ask the big question. He knew one of them would.

"Well, that sort of explains that. But only sort of." Jim stated. "Something just isn't right here." He stopped and thought for a moment before his eyes opened wide. "I've got it!" He looked at Spock then back at Archer a slight smile finally reaching his eyes. "I was the one she was talking about as the bad guy. She should have known who I was right away. There's something fishy with this."

"It does appear so." Replied Spock nodding.

Archer was pleased. Pike was correct in his assessment of these two; they were going to be quite the formidable pair. "I am in agreement with you both. Pike and I will be investigating that. You two are to keep yourselves out of it! Do you understand?"

They both automatically jumped to attention. "Yes sir." They snapped, saluting.

"Good. Now for my other news." Jon smiled as they almost visibly 'pricked' their ears. "After some significant arguing with a couple of my fellow admirals we voted to let you see Charles Tonne."

XXX

The only warning that had been given to Jim and Spock before the interview was that Charles had acting irrationally since his arrest. When they entered Jim immediately noticed he was feeling a strong mixture of emotions from fear and hatred to an intense relief and, Jim could only call it, a plea. It seemed to Jim that there was more than one entity occupying the being in front of him.

The bond was fully opened so he communicated these emotions as he felt them to Spock. _/'What do you think ashaya? It's like he's possessed or something.'/_

Spock narrowed his eyes as he looked at Charles who took a seat across from them. _/'His emotions are indeed conflicting. He did consent to the interview, did he not?'/_

_/'Yeah, he did. Archer said he was anxious for it actually.'/_

"Do you know who we are?" Jim began.

Charles looked up into Jim's eyes then over to Spock's. "Yes, I know who you are, although we've never met. You are Commander Spock."

His eyes returned to Jim's and suddenly, Charles _did_ appear to be a different person, slightly altered voice, totally different expression on his face. He sneered, "You're Jim Kirk and you were supposed to go back to hell." Then continued with an evil sounding snicker.

He shook himself as hard as he could restrained to the chair by his hands and legs and seemed himself again. "Mr. Kirk, I'm so sorry. That's why I wanted to see you. Both of you."

He took a deep breath before looking over at Spock and speaking his plea. "Mr. Spock, help me. Please, help me."

Jim could feel the roiling of Charles' emotions as he began grinding his teeth and shaking. Asking that question had been very difficult for him. It was obvious to Jim that Charles was in extreme emotional pain; there something was dreadfully wrong with him.

Spock answered him slowly and honestly. "Only during a mind meld which is a deeply personal act. I would only perform a meld with your permission and I would only look where what you wanted to look."

"Please, while I am still in control of myself. Meld with me. Something is wrong. Help me." Charles ground out through his teeth. Tears were running down his cheeks as he tried to control himself.

Before they could proceed Jim took the beginning of their interview and put the video on a feedback loop so that the meld would not be there for those who would find it of interest. He made sure to monitor Spock from both his mental state and from his physical responses.

Spock placed his chair next to that of Charles before placing his fingers on his psi points. "My mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts."

_/At first Spock felt like he would be tossed about by the tumult of conflicting emotions that was Charles mindscape. Jim was able to reach him through the bond and offer him an anchor, after all, he was used to experiencing extreme emotions._

_/With one hand on the multicolored metaphysical rope holding he and Jim together he was able to walk into the tumult without being tossed around. Once he passed through the initial chaos he came to a much calmer area that was simply a cold, thick, gray fog. _

_/Suddenly, as if he was at the cinema, he watched the entire process of everything that went into Jim's abduction play out. It seemed to Spock as if they were out of place in their current environment. As suddenly as the 'memories' appeared, they were gone, as if the lights were shut down, or the film clip ran out. He raised a metaphysical eyebrow._

_/Still there remained no sign of Charles, so Spock called out to him. He heard whispers in the distance and followed them. The fog became thicker as he progressed, but the whisper because more definitive and it sounded like Charles; Charles when he was speaking calmly, not the Charles that acted erratic. _

_/The whisper became his name, and a plea, 'Spock. Help me, please Spock.'_

_/Spock nearly walked into a wall the same color as the fog surrounding him. Charles voice was louder along the wall. 'Charles where are you?' He asked._

_/'Look for the door Spock. I'm through the door.' Charles replied._

_/Spock started to the left but almost immediately ran out of wall. Oddly, there was nothing around the corner, so he went back in the other direction. He used his delicate fingers, feeling along the wall for cracks which could indicate a door, that he could not see._

_/A sick feeling darkness floated nearby. Just as Spock began to feel the cracks of the outline of the door he felt a slimy tentacle land on his shoulder. The tentacle slid up from his shoulder to his neck then slowly up his face. He swiped it away. It was attempting to reach his meld points. Where it touched his skin he could feel where it wanted to insert itself into his mind. _

_/'Charles, I know what is wrong with you now. I have also found he door. However, I must leave at the moment. But be assured that I will return to get you out of that room once the pestilence in your mind has been removed.' Spock assured him right before he pulled out of the meld./_

As Spock became aware of his body once more he found Jim's right hand on the psi point in his left wrist. His internal chronometer informed him that the meld had lasted 15.284 minutes, which explained the lack of circulation he felt in the fingers of his right hand.

_/'Did you get what we needed Spock?'/_ Jim asked him through the bond.

Spock looked at Jim before he replied. _/'There is much to discuss k'diwa.'/_

Aloud, Spock then turned to address the man he had come to see. "Charles there will be a time when I can help you fully. However, you must wait until the time is right. That is not today. I cannot help you until I find the specific entity that is the cause of your harm." He paused, looking deeply at Charles, hoping that he truly understood what he was telling him. "Do you understand?"

Charles laughed and garbled out a mixture of yes and no for several seconds before he looked rational and said, "Yes."

XXX

All the way to their apartment Spock could feel Jim's excitement, dread and fear about what he had found in Charles mind. He found he himself disturbed, to say the least, by what he had found. That planet had been quarantined for 75.389 Earth years.

In silence they entered the apartment. Spock made himself some tea, while Jim made himself a cup of coffee; real coffee that they could easily keep in stock. Then they made their way into the living room before sitting next to each other on the sofa.

Spock quickly went through everything he found in Charles mind up to the point where he was walking along the wall and had found the door. "Just as I was feeling along the cracks in the wall I felt a repugnant presence above me just before I felt a tentacle touch my shoulder then reach for my face. As soon as it touched me I could feel the malevolence in the creatures mind and I was forced to retreat from the meld. It is a xi."

Jim was shocked to say the least. The planet of the xi had been quarantined for a long time now. If he recalled correctly there were two sentient telepathic species on that planet: the squids which were mind readers who could impose their will on others and the octopi which were mind sifters that could remove or implant memories in other minds. This one had to be a mind sifter. Where did it come from? Someone was going through a lot of trouble to cover their precious asses. There were very few who had that kind of power; first to get a ship to go there and second to capture one of the mind sifters.

Jim thought, _'Well, I guess I have more enemies than I thought. And these for no reason that I no of! Fuck._

_Chapter 18 end_


	19. Chapter 19 Revelations 1

**Standard Disclaimer – I own nothing Star Trek and make no $$ on it or this fan fiction story.**

The unexpected happens and one of those things was to find love again at my age. After 7 years of celibacy it's been quite a pleasant shock. But it has also made writing a bit slower. My apologies.

Thanks to my loyal readers and reviewers! I love you guys! Especially those of you who take the time to leave me a little comment. Special thanks to Trekkergurl, my Beta.

As the chapter title suggests this chapter contains important information for the rest of the story. You may not 'get' it all now, but eventually, you will!

Chapter 19 – Revelations 1

OoO

The question of why Karen Tracy did not recognize Jim when she first saw him would remain a mystery because she did not live long after she was taken into custody. When someone enters Starfleet they are subjected to a full set of medical examinations which includes detailed scans of the internal parts of the body as well as external examinations. If you are relegated to a detention facility for anything considered a major infraction you are rescanned and these scans are filed in case they are needed to determine if there had been any outside influence. Or, in Karen's case, to determine if there were any differences between the pre-Starfleet exams and postmortem exams.

The autopsy had revealed that she had massive brain hemorrhage due to a burst aneurysm where no weakening of a blood vessel had been undetected when she entered the facility 48 hours previously. Pathologists were puzzled that nothing had been detected. So they scrutinized every nanometer of the area once more and again, found nothing.

Jim, Spock and Pike found this sudden death to be very suspicious and thought that it was a good possibility that it was, again the use of a xi. Pike was the only other that Jim and Spock trusted enough with the information at the moment. Although, Jim felt very strongly that they could trust Archer as well; he was one of the admirals that Charles had served.

OoO

The research that they wanted to do took time. So while they worked on that, January, February and most of March passed with a quiet wonder for Jim and Spock. Jim excelled in his classes as they expected however, this semester there was no bickering about him 'blowing out the grading curve'.

Spock had informed him that not long after the new year there had been a meeting with the Dean of Students, Commodore Orci, who instructed the instructors that any student intelligent enough to test well above the standard grading curve should be set above it so that no students were 'punished' by merely being average.

It seemed that Jim was not the only student currently enrolled at the academy who was exceptionally brilliant. Finding out the name of the other student causing a problem with grading curves was a source of mutual amusement for them because it was their young Russian compatriot, Pavel Chekov, although he was blowing curves in the Astrophysics and Navigation tracts.

Pike was finally able to work some magic and was able to procure copies of the brain scans of Karen Tracy from before and after death. Neither of them were experts in biology so they wanted to get opinions from McCoy.

Spock had also been able to get a hold of the logs, specifically those of the Chief Medical Officer and Science Officer from the science vessel, _USS Hawking,_ that had been the first contact vessel at the xi home world 49 years previously. Seven officers had died mysteriously following their interactions with them. All they could find in the autopsies were massive brain hemorrhages from previously undetected aneurysms.

What had been omitted from the log that Spock had read was that there was one ensign on his first assignment out of the academy. He had been unfortunate enough to have been on the away team that made first contact. Much to the amazement of everyone on the _Hawking _this ensign survived. That particular ensign, who close to five decades later had become a sitting Admiral.

When Spock had first read the reports from the _Hawking _it had been immediately after his meld with Charles Tonne. He had found it curious that those who had physical contact with the xi had all died from brain hemorrhages from previously undetected blood vessel anomalies. Yet nothing out of the ordinary was noted in any of the logs. Then Karen Tracy died in a similar manner. He became quite curious to see all the brain scans.

Being meticulous Spock worked through Pike to get copies of brain scans from four of the crew members of the _Hawking _from when they first enlisted, when they were brought into sick bay after their contact with the xi and postmortem. Now, they had the final piece to put together with Karen Tracy's scans. They also had the same brain scans from Charles Tonne. After his plea both Spock and Jim were eager to see if they could help him. They were just sad it was taking so long. And they were afraid it was going to be longer still.

Jim put the comm through to McCoy. "Hey there Bones." Jim began.

McCoy looked at Jim with resignation. "Hay is for horses kid." Jim snorted out a laugh. "What do ya want?" McCoy continued.

"Well, we were wondering if we could borrow your medical expertise for a bit." Jim turned on his thousand watt smile.

"And for what would that be Jimmy boy? I don't like that look on your face. It tells me you're up to somethin'." McCoy replied with a raised eyebrow and a scowl.

"Come on Bones. It's a medical mystery. You like mysteries don't ya?" McCoy scowled harder at that. Jim didn't think it was possible.

"Depends on the mystery: Sherlock Holmes yes, death no." McCoy growled back.

Jim decided it was time for some begging, so he put on his best pouty face and tried again. He even put his hands together, steeled, "Please Bones. Just come over and check out what I have before you say no. Please, please, please Bonesssssssssss." He slipped to his knees, the perfect supplicant.

"Damn-it Jim, stop looking so pitiful. I can't stand it!" McCoy shook his head and signed. "I'll come over, okay?"

Jim jumped to his feet with a smile on his face. He made a small fist pump, uttering, "Way cool!"

"I'll be over in an hour." McCoy said still shaking his head as he cut the transmission. Before he did, Jim could have sworn he heard his friend laughing.

When McCoy arrived Jim explained what they had and what they suspected. Spock was putting the finishing touches on the set ups of two 3D work stations.

McCoy started inwardly drooling when he saw them, causing an envious reaction. However, he had to act nonchalant, so he grunted, "Hm, when the hell did you two become rich?"

"These are here for the use of Embassy personnel or Ambassadorial staff." Spock's voice emerged from under the table where he was hooking up the final cables. In one smooth movement he disengaged himself from the tangle of wires and stood.

McCoy watched Jim openly admiring his mate. Jim could feel McCoy watching him. So he couldn't help antagonizing him. "He has the grace of a cat Bones." Jim dropped his voice seductively. "Sometimes he even purrs or growls." He looked over at McCoy who had turned beet red and began muttering something that sounded like 'brain bleach'.

Before Jim could come up with a snarky reply, Spock did. "Indeed Leonard. Vulcan's have evolved from felines. Just as Tellarite's evolved from swine and Human's, as well as Veenan's, evolved from the primates individual to their worlds."

Jim looked at McCoy. "Bones, I think we were just insulted, what do you think?"

McCoy nodded, "Yup, Jim. I think you're right. If he hadn't thrown in the Tellarite's everything would've been fine. But he had to throw them in. Damn argumentative pig headed..."

Jim cut him off, "You know, it's not just that he threw in the Tellarite's; it's that he happened to throw them in between us and Vulcan's. You _do _know that he did that on purpose." Jim could feel his smug Vulcan's amusement during the discussion knowing that it was the reaction he had been trying for.

Jim chuckled and shook his head before looking at Spock. "Alright, enough fun and games Spock, I think it's time we got down to work."

The first scans they pulled up were those of Karen Tracy. They used the point of the hemorrhage as the point to begin their examinations of the other two scans. McCoy found the 3D images to be very helpful in comparing the two and between his medical insights and Spock's eyes, it was not long before they found something.

They had just moved their magnification beyond the nanometer level, not down to picometer level when Spock noticed a tiny black spot and enlarged it further. He had set up the monitors so that both scans would move simultaneously. Both Jim and McCoy jumped back when Spock took control because the speed with which he was manipulating the scans was making them dizzy.

"Leonard, James, here." Spock called McCoy's attention to a black dot, that had the shape of a tiny mite, stuck on the artery that burst. It was clearly on only one of the scans; the one _after_ Karen was taken into custody.

Jim felt Spock's pride and McCoy's shock. He felt excitement, because, they were finally getting somewhere in their quest for answers.

The look on McCoy's face was totally gobsmacked. "Well, I'll be, it's a god damned parasite." He rubbed his hand over his face. "Never in a million years did I think we'd find something that the best pathologists in the galaxy couldn't." He sat down hard.

Jim had a thought as McCoy was speaking that, he was afraid that if he voiced it, it would be true. But he knew he had to let them know his suspicions. "What if they found it but were told 'not find' it?" He had been looking down at his hands and finally got up the courage to look up to meet their eyes when he felt McCoy's indignation and Spock's surprise.

"No!" McCoy was flat out pissed at that suggestion. "I don't believe that. I can't believe that." His hazel eyes flared as they bore into Jim's blue ones as if he thought Jim would back down from a simple staring contest.

Jim stared back at his indignant friend. "Bones, if there is someone in or close to the Admiralty fucking around with the xi do you really think that they'd want anyone find evidence?"

McCoy dipped his head and acquiesced. "I don't like it. It goes against everything I believe in, but I can see what you're sayin'. Politics." He paused for a few breaths then looked up at Jim and Spock and told them, "Well, let's get on with it and look at the scans from the _Hawking." _

While Spock loaded the first scan from the four from the _Hawking _crew members, Jim added some thoughts. "Bones, I'm not so sure it's politics. I'm starting to think that it's a lot darker than politics, even though history has shown that politics can be freaking pretty dark."

Spock called up the first scan and began to manipulate it. He took over from where Jim left off. "Human history is full of examples of people who initially thought they were helping or improving the species, two examples of the worst humanity were Adolf Hitler and Khan Noonien Singh."

McCoy looked at Spock. "I agree with ya there Spock. Genocide is no way to 'improve' a species."

Since they knew where to look and what to look for it was easy to discover what they were looking for on the scans for crew members from the _Hawking. _

Jim **knew** what they would find when they looked at Charles scans and he really felt sorry for the guy. "Bones, do you think, if you knew that thing was there that you could take it out?"

McCoy locked his very solemn expression with Jim's. "Well, I have performed some really tricky micro-surgeries before Jimmy, but this would be even trickier. However, I certainly could try."

Jim nodded and contemplated that for several seconds before turning to Spock. "Alrighty then, Spock, what are the odds that said surgery could be performed before the xi parasite realized that it was being compromised and killed the patient?"

"With the seeming evidence we have thus compiled, 1.7691%." Spock intoned.

"Fuck." Jim sighed. "You do realize what that means for Charles, don't you." It was a statement, not a question.

"I do." Spock replied simply. "However, I have an idea which may significantly increase our chances of success."

McCoy perked up visibly. Jim, however, became so excited he leaped onto him causing McCoy to sputter and cough. He had to make sure he put on a good show. Really, he did not turn away from the display of affection, because he did not mind.

Jim dropped to the ground smiling. Spock looked smug. While they had been hugging Spock had explained his plan to Jim through their bond and he thought it was the best chance they had.

"Well," McCoy drawled. He had his hands on his hips in mock anger. "Are ya gonna share?"

"I think it best if you sat down Leonard." Spock told him before they shared their plan which involved Spock holding Charles in meld while the parasite was removed from his brain.

McCoy was shocked. "Jim, you can't seriously be thinking of letting him do that? What if Charles were to die while they're melded?"

"In that case, it would be possible that I would either die as well or be damaged." Spock replied in his normal emotionless manner. He would not voice what would possibly happen to Jim if he died. Jim knew. That was all that mattered.

"I wouldn't let that happen Bones. I'm gonna act as an anchor for him so he won't get lost in Charles brain, like I did before." He wasn't going to share the information that if Spock died he would also, their bond was so strong that neither could survive long without the other. If McCoy knew that, he wouldn't help Charles. Sometimes helping others was simply worth the risk involved.

The good of the many was worth the lives of the few, or in this case, the one. Both he and Spock believed Charles was completely innocent of any wrongdoing in his abduction and Jim felt strongly that they needed to help him. They also believe that Charles knew which Admiral was the guilty party and was assisting the xi take over Starfleet. With what they just found out, they had to do it soon before the xi parasite killed him.

OoO

The next day Jim and Spock were jogging in Golden Gate park where the 'accidentally' ran into Captain Pike at a prearranged location where two trails came together. As they walked Spock gave Pike a concise report of their findings and of the surgery they wanted to attempt on Charles.

After he heard their report Pike sighed heavily. "I was afraid of something like this. Problem is, we can't run brain scans on everyone so we can't easily figure out how far ranging this xi infestation has spread."

He paused to think for a minute before he started to speak again. "Here's what I want you to do: tomorrow at 2100 I want you to meet me at the Oakland house. I'm going to bring someone over, who you know but are at this point unaware they are on our team. This person will, I believe, be able to assist us with Charles Tonne. If this person can't help you get Doctor McCoy in there to do the surgery, no one can."

OoO

Jim had been like a dog with a bone all day and had been driving Spock crazy sending him suggestions through their bond. He had been aware of what he was doing it but he had been so excited that his thoughts simply overrode all of the shielding Spock put in place.

Jim's first class of the day had been Warp Field Theory and he would concede that theoretical physics students did get excited over topics most people considered to be odd. He never would have thought twice about the enthusiasm in the class had it not been for the lecturer: Sharvon, a tall, quiet Vulcan on loan for the month from the Vulcan Science Academy. Jim thought that the man's voice could put the entirety of Starfleet Academy to sleep in five minutes because it was a soft, perfect monotone. However for that particular lecture Sharvon had been animated, for a Vulcan: Instead of standing in one place he stepped from side to side; he even gestured (very slightly) with his head, body and even his hands (really, _really _rare). He also had some, slight inflection in his voice. Jim's fellow classmates sat on the edges of their seats and literally jumped with questions.

It was during his second class that he began to suspect that the enthusiasm he had witnessed during his first class might have had something to do with his emotional state. After Sharvon, Jim thought that Professor Skur was the most boring lecturer. His class was Spatial Battle Tactics and the lecture of the day had been between the Klingon and Andorian fleets. Being an Andorian himself Skur was a bit proud of the result of that particular battle and it had shown. Skur strutted back and forth in front of the class with his antenna moving around as if to check to determine if his students were paying attention. 

It was obvious that they were paying attention because instead of falling asleep as they usually did however, the cadets in the class had been excited and asked a lot of questions. Needless to say, Professor Skur had been very happy with the result.

Jim had then wondered, since his fellow students were acting like he felt; excited, decided to perform an experiment for his third class, the most boring class he would be taking throughout his cadet: Starfleet Regulations and Procedures 102. Everyone's least favorite class.

From experience he knew that he at times when he was excited his moods could swing quickly. So before entering the class he tamped down his excitement level to next to nothing. As he had predicted the class was as boring as usual. After about one third of the period had passed he allowed his excitement to boil out. Sure enough everyone in the class picked up on it, including their 'nose in the air' Benzite professor Mendor, who actually started to smile when people asked questions.

By the end of his day Jim's brain was buzzing. He was excited about their upcoming meeting and disturbed by the results of his projective empathy experiment.

Spock, by the end of the day, was convinced that Jim needed work on emotional control.

What Spock never expected was what came out of Jim's mouth after he had kissed him in greeting. "K'diwa, I need your help."

Through the bond he could tell that Jim was both elated and troubled at the same time. "Come James. Let me fix us some tea and you can tell me what help you would like."

Jim nodded and they went into the kitchen. He got down a couple of mugs while Spock prepared the tea. Over the past several months since they began their relationship Jim had come to enjoy Vulcan spice tea. It was rich, hearty and bitter. Things he liked about coffee. However, it did not contain any caffeine. For months, both McCoy and Spock had been harping at him to cut back on his caffeine consumption, so this, was one of his compromises.

Once the tea was steeping, they moved into the living room. All that was needed to spark the return to the conversation was for Spock to raise an eyebrow.

"I need more help with emotional control Spock." Jim began looking him in the eye. "The techniques you've taught me so far work well enough when I'm not overly excited. But today I found myself projecting without even thinking about it. At first I didn't even realize it was me, but it became too much to ignore when people were wide awake and asking questions during Spatial Battle Tactics with Skur, usually they're half asleep ten minutes into class."

He shook his head and tried to _not _let his emotions bleed through. "You know, sometimes I have to wonder about my classmates. I know I'm not the only person in there in the command tract! Personally I think Skur has some pretty interesting insights having personally commanded battles against Humans, Vulcan's, Klingon's, Romulan's, Orion's, Cardassians, Xindi and lots of other, less visible species. He's a military genius and the other cadets in the class are falling asleep because of the way he lectures." He points his right hand at his head like a gun and mock shoots. "They might as well just shoot themselves in the heads right now so they don't get an entire crew killed!"

He was getting riled up because no matter how much he liked to play, when it came to the safety of those under his potential command, Jim Kirk was dead serious. It was a long time before he even considered the thought of putting himself into that kind of a position of responsibility again. It had been difficult for him to accept that it was not his fault that some of the other kids he had been protecting had died regardless of all he had done.

Just as Jim took a breath to continue his rant he felt Spock's warm hand on his. It wasn't until that moment that he realized that Spock had been trying to get him to acknowledge his mental voice, to no avail. "Ashayam, calm yourself. We were discussing your request for training in emotional control..." Spock tilted his head to the left when he finished raising his right eyebrow.

Jim couldn't help but snort a laugh at the expression on his bondmate's face. "You're right, as usual."

He sighed and looked down at his hands, suddenly sober. "Now I have practice controlling anger and rage. I can channel those emotions into a safer place that's, I guess the best way to put it is cold and calculating. But I don't want to push all my emotions into a place like that. I like to be able to be excited and happy. But I need to be able to suppress it enough that I don't project it to everyone else.

"I suppose I've always projected when I've felt strongly. But, I know being as controlled as you are won't work for me." Jim started to giggle and looked at his mate who had raised an eyebrow and had amusement sparkling in his eyes.

"No doubt you suddenly becoming a Vulcan would please my father greatly." Spock intoned causing Jim's giggle to turn into a full out belly laugh.

"I suppose I would need some plastic surgery to fix my ears and brows. Couldn't hide the color of my blood though, so my skin will always flush pink." Jim said as he contained his laughter. "I don't know what his problem is, he married a human, didn't he?" Jim shook his head. Therein lie the reason in itself, "Spock, that's it."

_/'That is what, k'diwa.'/ _Spock enquired.

_/'Your father doesn't want to dilute the Vulcan blood in the line of Surak any farther Spock. However, both Vulcan and Veenan genetics will prevail over human genetics in our kids. Even though we are both half-human our children will be less than half-human. I have no idea how the DNA figures that out, but somehow it does.'/ _Jim replied.

"Conspicuously logical that he would not want the blood line diluted further ashaya; or as some of our fellow Vulcan's have said 'contaminated'. However, that is against the belief in the IDIC; a belief to which my father professes. Otherwise he never would have married my mother. I believe it has more to do with the inner workings of Vulcan politics." Spock explained.

"T'Pring's house has wanted to join with the house of Surak for several generations and this is the first time they have had a female to mate with a male from our house. She was too young to have been mated to Sybok." Spock finished, not realizing Jim didn't know that he had a brother.

"Who is Sybok?" Jim asked, brimming with energy.

"He was my half-brother from Sarek's first marriage. Sybok decided to embrace emotions and my father disowned him, as did the rest of Vulcan. I have not seen him since I was a small child." Spock replied.

Jim started to laugh nervously. Spock looked at him with an eyebrow raised in question. "It seems that your father has an answer for disobedient sons: disown them, period." He said as he sobered. "I know the laughing was inappropriate, it was one of those human nervous responses."

"I see." Spock intoned. And it was quite clear to Jim that he really did _not_ 'see', but he would let it go for now. They had other things to discuss before they had to head to Oakland in an hour.

"So, back to the original discussion, help with emotional control?" Jim coyly batted his eyes at Spock, reaching out with two fingers for a kiss.

Spock took Jim's fingers and relaxed immediately as Jim stroked his fingers sending him love and affection. Spock returned love and gratitude.

Before allowing their hour to evolve into a quickie Spock did want to discuss Jim's topic, so despite what he desired Spock did not allow Jim's lips to reach his. He stood so quickly that Jim almost didn't catch himself in time to keep from nose-diving off of the sofa.

Jim caught himself with one arm on the sofa and the other on the coffee table and looked up at Spock, trying not to laugh as he said, "Cock block."

Spock merely stood staring down at him with a definite smirk creasing the corners of his mouth and eyes. And, of course, he wouldn't have been Spock without an eyebrow raised in amusement. "There is a much more constructive use of this we could make of this time. For example, starting you on a meditation technique to help you process your emotions."

The next hour was spent discussing various Vulcan meditation techniques designed for cataloging and controlling emotions.

OoO

Jim and Spock arrived at the Oakland house ten minutes early and found it empty. Jim had been guessing who their special guest was going to be all day, from Federation President Abrams through most of the Admiralty on planet, however his bets were on it being Archer or T'Pol.

Spock deigned to guess. To Spock, guessing was a waste of time and energy. There was no logic in guessing.

"Come on Spock, guessing can be fun! Who do you think it will be?" Jim implored.

Spock was confused by the concept of guessing as fun. "I fail to see how the concept of guessing is fun James."

Just as Jim opened his mouth with a cutting retort, they heard the front door open. "Jim? Spock?" Chris Pike called out right before they walked into the hall.

Jim beamed when he saw who entered behind his mentor. He had guessed correctly, it was Admiral Jonathan Archer.

OoO

On a hot, watery planet, under a blue sun, several thousand of light years from Earth, in a sparsely populated arm of the galaxy, The Prophet shivered in its dark cave. The movement caused ripples in the water and moisture rich atmosphere to wash over the entire planet. The being that prophecy spoken of only as 'The Warlord' had surmised the beginnings of their plans. It was only a matter of time: he would be coming to stop them.

PS. Don't forget to let me know what you think in a review. Thanks!


	20. Chapter 20 Revelations 2

**Sorry for the delay; unpleasant, unforeseeable circumstances occurred. I will say I do have at least 1/3 of the next chapter written already, so hopefully it will come out faster. Also, I hope that my grammar is better. I've had the grammar checker on the computer on the entire time, but I guess it's not very good.**

**Thanks to all my loyal readers and reviewers!**

**Special thanks to Trekkergurl my Beta!**

Chapter 20 – Revelations 2

OoO

The Oakland house was located on the border of Piedmont, an area of modest older homes. They had been built in the 2150's to replace the homes that had been leveled in a 6.2 magnitude rupture of the Haywood Fault in 2132 that caused severe damage to Oakland, Piedmont and Berkeley. The new homes had been built with the current state of the art "Earthquake Resistance Technology" in accordance with California State Law that had been passed after the chaos of the Eugenics Wars. During that war there had been a devastating 9.1 rupture of the San Andreas Fault just North of Frazier Park which killed nearly one million people in the greater Los Angeles area due to building collapse.

When the house was purchased by the group from Starfleet they ensured it was updated with modern amenities, such as replicators and sonic showers. The kitchen, dining area and two bathrooms all had ceramic tile floors, while the three bedrooms were carpeted. The living room and halls were floored with bamboo hardwood, giving those spaces a warm glow. Since the living room furnishings were chosen individually by different men with thought only for their comfort, they were eclectic to say the least.

The centerpiece of the living room was a box like table made of a brown resin that had been developed as a substitute for wood, mounted on wheels so that it could easily be moved. There were two octagonal end tables made of the same material sitting at each end of the overstuffed brown leather sofa. On each table sat a different lamp. One was a snaking shape, that somewhat resembled a plant, with six fancy flower shaped lights that could be turned on individually. The other was a more traditional lamp except for the base which resembled a simian from Arnos VII.

There were three other chairs arranged around the living room. One was a rather ugly purple Victorian style chair, high backed, wood around it, no arms and not much cushioning. Pike told them the only person who ever used it was the person who bought it. Accordingly it was located in a corner where it could be pulled out if needed. There was a modern blue wrap around chair that looked to be the type you could sleep in. It turned out to be Pike's pick. The final chair was a burgundy recliner, it was obviously one that would help someone stand if need be. When Archer sat in it it became obvious who's choice it was.

If Jim thought that it would be easy to convince Admiral Archer to allow McCoy to perform micro-surgery on Charles Tonne to remove the xi parasite from his brain was going to be easy, he was dead wrong. All his arguments boiled down to the fact that he did not believe that Starfleet or The Federation could afford to lose either Kirk or Spock.

Once Jim and Spock had given the Admiral their evidence, Archer smiled at them before he spoke. "Boys, I'm not going to mince words here, there has been something suspicious going on here in Starfleet for a while now and you two are the first to bring the xi into the equation. Now, there's one thing about the _USS Hawking_ trip to the xi home world that you don't know that I think might begin to bring things into perspective."

Archer watched them in order to gauge their reactions: Spock sat straighter and raised both eyebrows; Jim made an "O" with his mouth and moved to the edge of his seat; only Pike remained stoic.

That was exactly the reaction the Admiral wanted. He knew that he was dropping a bomb on these men, so when he spoke, it was slowly and carefully. "Forty nine years ago James Komack was an Ensign on the _USS Hawking_ when it encountered the xi home world. However, until now, I had never considered that he might have brought himself home an unintentional souvenir."

Archer became quiet and thoughtful which prompted a question from Spock. "Sir, I am sure there have been physicals of Admiral Komack since he returned from the _Hawking _mission."

Archer nodded his agreement with the statement.

"Would it be possible for us to get a copy of any brain scan performed on the Admiral since his return from that mission?"

Archer smiled and nodded his agreement as he spoke, "I will see what I can do about getting you a copy of a brain scan for Admiral Komack. And, that's just one prime example of why I don't want to put you two on the front lines... _Yet_." He frowned nodding, as he continued, "I have no doubt you'll get there in time."

Jim couldn't believe what he was hearing. When he spoke his voice was harsh and indignant. "But Sir, if Komack is the source of xi parasites he needs to be identified and stopped, and it's possible that Charles could be the person to ID him as the perp who is responsible."

"_Calm yourself Ashaya." _Spock told him through their bond. _"Listen to everything they have to say before you jump to any conclusions."_

"_You're right Spock." _Jim replied.

Jim took a deep breath, closed his eyes and calmed himself. Once he felt civil again he apologized, "sorry for my outburst. I just hate to see someone die who I can help."

Archer's eyes softened as he looked at the young man. He made sure to catch Jim's eyes, then he said, "that is one quality that will make you an excellent Starship Captain."

Archer shifted to relieve a cramp in his back. Chris moved to help him but the Admiral waved him off with a scowl. "Damn-it Chris, I may be old, but I'm not feeble," he growled.

Once he settled he returned his gaze to Kirk and Spock before continuing his comments. "You have to understand how valuable you two are. You have intuitions that others don't. Even with the charges against Charles you suspected something wasn't right and wanted to see him. When Spock performed the meld you found out about the xi. I highly doubt anyone else would have suspected anything was not as cut and dried as it appeared, let alone cared enough to have done anything. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Jim shook his head. He really didn't.

Spock thought he might have understood, but he was unsure, so he also shook his head.

Archer nodded and smiled at them. He explained, "it's simple really; synergy. I doubt that either of you would have reached that conclusion on your own. But together, your minds are ten times what they are individually."

He chuckled and shook his head momentarily before he continued. "Chris told you that there's a group of us that has suspected something because of strange orders. But none of us even thought of a xi connection."

Jim interrupted, "Admiral, you didn't have the apparent coincidences that we did to help you along either. It all started with my abduction. If that hadn't happened we wouldn't be sitting here right now."

Archer stopped Jim with a lift of a finger. "Ah, another point I wanted to make. There's something about you specifically Jim," he said as his eyes bored into Jim's, "they're afraid of you. What is it that they fear about you son?"

Suddenly the world around Jim went dim. He heard their voices clearly, the Ha'Tshi: they were calling for him to return to them.

Then, just as suddenly as it started, his vision cleared. He looked around and it didn't seem that anyone noticed, except Spock was looking at him out of the corner of his eye.

"_K'diwa, are you alright?" _Spock inquired through the bond.

"_Yeah, tell you about it later."_

Jim blinked and fixed his gaze on Archer before he replied, "I don't know Admiral. There are other Veenan's who are telekinetic empaths." He paused as a thought jumped to the forefront of his mind. His eyes opened wider as he articulated it, "I _may be_ the only one in Starfleet. However, all Veenan ship Captains are telekinetic!"

Archer smiled broadly, nodding as he said, "I think you pegged it with the fact that you are in Starfleet and they are not Jim. Starfleet is much larger than a planetary defense fleet. Maybe they're afraid that you can overcome their telepathy with your telekinesis or with your empathy. Whatever it is it makes you important; important to them and important to us."

While Archer was talking Jim kept telling himself not to get angry, but when he heard all the talk of himself being referred to as _important _he jumped off the sofa and started to pace. He was aware that the others were all watching him and that he had to articulate his feelings.

Jim forced the anger down and concentrated only on his feelings of panic; the sense that the world was closing in around him. He knew where they came from: the thought that his life was not his own, that he had a_ destiny_. While he was on Veenu, his Shanquat ,T'remel and the Ha'Tshi, had tried to tell him he had a destiny but he refused to hear it. Now Archer almost sounded like them. There was only one person in charge of Jim's future and that was Jim himself. 

The entire time he was working on controlling his emotions he felt Spock on the edge of his consciousness, ready to help him if he asked.

"_Breathe slowly and deeply and concentrate on the image in my mind. Describe it to me."_

Jim heard Spock when he calmed his mind enough to listen inwardly for a moment. He looked and found what had to have been one of Spock's earliest memories of his Mother. She was looking down into his face, dark hairs escaping their confines in the scarf upon her head, a beatific smile on her face. It was the embodiment of peace, love and safety to Spock.

"_Your Mother! Oh, Spock, she's so young and beautiful. The vision of her is so loving and peaceful. Thank you."_

Jim didn't realize that he had stopped pacing and closed his eyes. Everything about his body was tense: he stood on the balls of his feet which were spread to shoulder width, knees slightly bent; shoulders tight; hands balled into fists. To Archer he looked like a trapped animal that was ready to attempt to fight its way to freedom, when he suddenly relaxed.

Jim opened his eyes, walked back to where he was sitting before he had jumped up and started pacing and sat down next to Spock once more. Archer and Pike were watching him and looked like they were ready to throw him in a crazy house and throw away the key.

Sighing Jim explained, "look Admiral, you caught me off guard there. I really dislike the implications associated with something other than James T. Kirk being in control of my life. You know, shit like being my father's son or having a destiny or being important to Starfleet or the Federation for something. You have to understand that I am my own person and am in charge of my own life. And it pisses me the fuck off when anyone tries to tell me otherwise. You need to understand, it feels like I've been fighting for my own identity since I was born."

Jim locked eyes with Archer and said, "Sir, please don't take this as a personal affront, but Starfleet has never been able to protect me, so what makes you think that Starfleet can protect me now?" He was impressed that he was able to keep the bitterness from his voice.

While he was talking he entwined his hand with Spock's. There was only one being in the Universe that has ever truly protected Jim and he was seated at his side. He felt an almost overwhelming wash of love from Spock as Spock caught his thoughts.

Archer ducked his head in acknowledgment of Jim's statement. When he looked up into Jim's eyes and spoke his voice was solemn, "you're right Jim and for that I am sorry. Starfleet hasn't been there for you." Without thinking about it Archer continued and gave Jim the opening he was waiting for. "What can we do to make it up to you?"

Jim didn't think twice. When he came here he had one goal, so he smiled as he said, "you can allow us to perform the micro-surgery on Charles Tonne to remove the xi parasite."

Archer's eyes widened momentarily before he burst out laughing. The others watched him as he contained his mirth, all the while wondering if he had lost it or not. He wiped a couple of stray tears off his face with his hands and took a deep breath.

A wide smile still plastered on his face, Archer was finally able to explain his outburst, "I can't believe I let the kid outsmart me!" He snorted out another laugh before he continued, "good work Jim. I'll make it happen. It won't be easy and I'll have to work around certain obstacles, one of them being the man in question. But, I _will _make it happen."

Like the snap of your fingers, the smile left Archer's face to be replaced by a stern, almost scowl. His change in demeanor took everyone by surprise. "But I do not like the fact that it will put your lives on the line!" Archer told them.

Jim was pissed at the whole thing and had a ready retort for that statement. "Well Admiral, maybe it's my fucking destiny!" he snapped.

Archer knew he had to react to that, the kid was one cocky son of a bitch. In that moment he switched from Jonathan Archer friendly adviser to Jonathan Archer Fleet Admiral. "Son," he said, "it's a really good thing we are _not _on academy grounds at the moment or I would be forced to discipline you. I can guarantee you would not have enjoyed the discipline I would have chosen. Do I make myself clear?"

Jim stood at attention and saluted. "Yes Sir!" he replied.

"Good," Archer said, "now get out of here, both of you. I will be in touch through Captain Pike."

Once they were gone the older men had a good laugh.

"Jon, I think you made an impression!" Pike told him.

"It would seem that way. Those boys left at warp speed!" Archer replied dissolving into laughter once more.

OoO

As soon as they were on the highway on their way back to San Francisco Spock broke the silence. "Ashaya, you were pushing your luck with Admiral Archer," he intoned eyes never leaving the road.

"Yes Spock, you are correct I did push my luck. And you know what? I'd do it again with anyone, anywhere if they try to tell me that something other than me," he hit his chest, "is in charge of what happens to me!" He growled, as he hit his chest again, harder.

They drove home the remainder of the way in silence.

OoO

That night Jim had the first nightmare. He woke in a cold sweat, chilled to the bone. He could still hear the voices of the place he dreaded most in the Universe calling out to him. He would rather face a group of Klingon warriors with Bat'leth's unarmed than go back there. Just as he moved to get out of bed, Spock put a hand on him and stayed his movement.

"James, you had a nightmare. Do you want to speak about it?" Spock caressed Jim's face, his thumb removing a tear.

Jim just laid there for a couple of minutes gathering his thoughts about the dream. He shook his head. "Not really. I don't want to talk about it, I don't even want to think about it. But I have to, because it was no simple nightmare."

Spock had been kind enough not to ask him about his little lapse earlier in the day and Jim decided it was time to explain what was going on. "Earlier today when I had that little lapse at the Oakland house when Archer said that the xi were afraid of me, it triggered something put there by the Ha'Tshi. You know I never wanted to hear their determinations of my future from their seeing, so they just put their little triggers in my head so that when certain things happened, like meeting you, it would jump up and say 'hi, this is an important event'. Well, it seems that when Archer asked why the xi were afraid of me it triggered something alright. It seems they want to see us together."

"I will accompany you to Veenu Ashayam," Spock replied.

"I know you will k'diwa. The biggest problem is that we have to wait another six weeks until the term is over. We'll have to take a commercial transport because we can't commandeer a starship for our personal use, so instead of taking a couple of days to get there it'll take at least a week. I just want to prepare you that it's likely that I will continue to have nightmares until we go." While Jim was speaking he rolled toward Spock and propped himself up on his elbow.

"If you will allow me I can meld with you and try a technique that may allow you to sleep deeply without dreams." Spock informed him.

"What is the time Spock?" Jim asked. They had a chrono in the bedroom, but only for its alarm. Jim figured out not long after they got together that Spock was the most accurate chrono he could have asked for!

"0147 hours Ashaya," Spock replied.

"Ugh, I really want to sleep some more. But I hate going back to sleep after a nightmare, so could you try that now, please love?" Jim requested hopefully.

"Certainly, lay back again and I will do so," Spock told him.

As he predicted it worked and Jim slept dreamlessly for the remainder of the night.

The next night Spock was determined to watch over Jim's dreams to attempt to redirect any nightmares. At first they only came every four days and he was able to successfully redirect them. However, during the fourth week they began to become stronger and started to happen every other night. He lived through the nightmares along with Jim at that point and was able to sooth him somewhat. Then by the sixth week, the week of finals, they were happening every night. Spock found it very difficult the assist Jim through these nightmares and Jim became somewhat frazzled.

Final examinations were going to be a challenge for him.

OoO

In the meantime, two weeks after their meeting with Archer, they had received permission to proceed with the microsurgery on Charles. It was not given without a lot of grumbling on the part of Archer, but he though hard about what Jim had said about the possibility that Charles would be able to reveal the name of the perpetrator.

McCoy wasn't very happy about it either. As he let Jim know in a vociferous manner, "Jim are you out of your blazing mind! No, I shouldn't have asked that, because the damned answer is yes! But you Spock! I expected better from you, sanity at least."

"Doctor McCoy, it may be the only way to positively identify the perpetrator. If we are able to do that we may be able to stop the spread of the xi influence here on Earth. The needs of the many outweigh than the needs of the few." Spock intoned, his face totally blank. Jim could feel his fear underneath his smooth veneer. He wished he had that kind of emotional control.

McCoy hung his head as he realized that Spock was right that they had to catch the perp before more people were infected. So he looked up at them with an angry gaze and said, "Alright, I'll do it, but under protest damn-it. If one or both of you die during the surgery it will be horrible for me you know. No matter how much I bitch at you, you _are _my friends." He reached out and put a hand on each of their shoulders squeezing them affectionately. They could easily feel his pain and affection at his pronouncement.

As McCoy predicted the surgery was a very difficult and long one because of the location of the parasite. When the parasite realized what McCoy was doing half way into the surgery it began to try to kill Charles. However Spock held it in a mental containment field, so that it couldn't touch Charles.

The parasite then turned its attention to Spock and began to attack the containment field. That was when Spock realized that the parasite was either intelligent in its own right or it was in some way attached to its maker. He believed that it would be the latter and wanted to investigate.

"_No Spock, leave it alone." _Jim told him through the bond, _"don't let your curiosity get the better of you, not here, not now. Just hold onto that thing."_

"_I will not investigate Ashaya. I am certain that the parasite itself cannot be this intelligent." _Spock replied.

As McCoy's instruments drew closer to their target the parasite fought harder against the containment field as if it was able to divine his intentions. Spock then felt its attention drawn to him; it would have been terrifying had it not been for Jim holding onto him.

"_Spock!"_

"_I am here Ashayam. It looked at me." _Spock explained. _"Keep talking to me k'diwa, as it definitely grounds me."_

"_Well one time me and Sam were climbing around in the old barn..." _There was a loud mental scream and everything went dark until Jim heard McCoy's gruff voice.

"Wake up Jimbo, come on," McCoy growled gently squeezing Jim's shoulder. He wasn't sure it would be a good idea to touch Spock. McCoy was certain that once he woke Jim, Spock would come around.

Jim blinked his eyes and lifted his head off Spock's shoulder rousing his mate. They were seated in a chair McCoy had found in the basement that was deep and would cradle the back. Jim was seated against the back and Spock sat in front of him so that Jim could support his posture during the meld.

"Come on, Charles is ready to be moved to recovery," McCoy said.

Spock sat up fully removing his hand from the side of Charles face noting that he looked calm for the first time since they had met.

No sooner had he removed his hand than the head nurse rolled Charles out of the room and Doctor McCoy spoke, snapping off his surgical gloves. "Welcome back boys. That was tricky, but between us we got that slippery little bug out of his head. Right now it's in a vial frozen in liquid nitrogen."

"I would like to perform a meld on Charles as soon as possible to ensure he is free from xi influence Doctor," said Spock.

Jim nodded as he added his two cents, "I agree Bones. It would be a good idea to make sure there is nothing remaining behind in his head, especially if we might consider performing this micro-surgery on others."

McCoy reluctantly agreed to notify them when his patient was ready to meld again. "But before I let you do anything of the kind I want you two to go sleep for at least six hours," he added.

As he said that Jim tried to hold in a big yawn but his friend caught it anyway. "Just what I told you Jimmy boy. You need to sleep. Now get the hell home and no hanky panky when you get there damn-it!"

Spock stood and Jim right behind him. Jim saluted McCoy and said, "Aye, aye sir!" yawning widely unable to stop it.

McCoy laughed, swatted Jim on the shoulder and said, "now git outta here and I don't want to hear from you for at least seven hours, understood. And before you say anything, I _will_ make sure that Charles is in isolation under a heavy guard."

The next morning the well-rested Jim and Spock met with McCoy at Starfleet medical to perform the post-surgery meld with Charles. They found him sitting up in bed eating his hospital breakfast like it was the best food he had ever eaten. Jim shuddered inwardly upon seeing the enthusiasm with which Charles was eating that hospital food.

"_Ashaya, what is wrong?"_ Spock asked him through the bond.

"_Can't stand hospital food love, horrid food and bad memories,"_ was Jim's response.

As soon as they entered the room McCoy was running his medical tricorder over his patient to ensure himself that the person in front of him was indeed healthy. "Morning Charles, how are ya feelin' today?" he asked.

Between bites of food Charles managed a reply, "feel great Doc; Better than ever."

McCoy glanced past Charles to the door where Jim was standing slightly behind Spock, not quite in the room, looking as green as his mate. "Spock, take Jim out of the room for a few minutes if you wouldn't mind." He did his best to stay calm while he said that so that Jim wouldn't just vomit immediately.

When Spock turned and saw Jim's coloring he was shocked. He grabbed Jim's arms and turned him out of the room into the hall. "Why did you not say anything James?" Spock asked as he wiped some sweat from Jim's brow.

Jim could feel his alarm through the bond. He took several deep breaths before he felt he could speak without his gorge rising. "Sorry babe, it's just seeing anyone enjoy hospital food like that was a bit more than my mind wanted to deal with at the moment. Let's make sure he's done eating before we go back in there."

"What will you do on board a ship if you are ever required to stay in sick bay and eat the food there?" Spock inquired.

"Well, on a ship, the food in sick bay should be replicated not mass produced. I can eat replicated food. It's just stuff like mass produced scrambled eggs, oatmeal, soup, meat, vegetables. Gods Spock, the vegetables I've had served to me in the hospital have been so mushy they've been down-right gross." Jim answered.

While they were talking the attendants came to take the food trays out of the rooms so Jim felt he could re-enter the room without any problem.

Charles smiled broadly when he saw them come back in greeting them, "Good morning Gentlemen, I hope the morning finds you well?"

McCoy looked at Jim with a raised eyebrow and Jim nodded to him to indicate he was okay. The doctor seemed mollified for the moment.

Spock chose to greet Charles, "Good morning to you Charles, you appear very well this morning."

Charles nodded as he replied, "yeah, I don't feel like two people anymore. You, Jim and Doctor McCoy are to thank for that. Now, I think that you need to perform another meld to get other information out of me, right?"

Spock showed no surprise as he replied "correct Charles. Would now be a good time?"

"Now is as good a time as any," Charles said, "I remember everything and you need to know what happened."

Spock pulled up a chair next to Charles' bio-bed so that he would be comfortable. Charles also made sure he would be comfortable.

Spock spoke the words of the familiar mantra, "my mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts."

_Spock was able to observe Charles memories clearly. He felt Charles guide him to the proper place. "Here Mr. Spock is what you need to see."_

_Admiral Komack welcomed Charles into his office and clapped him on the shoulder with a sedative used by the xi. Then he guided him over to a smaller room to the side where there were two chairs. He was seated in one, strapped down and gagged. An Octopus was then taken from a tank and placed on a table between the two chairs. The Admiral sat in a chair next to him and it seemed that the Octopus somehow connected the two of them by placing a tentacle in an ear of each person. He recalled trying to scream while memories, ugly memories that were not his flooded his consciousness. After what seemed like an eternity Admiral Komack left the room and only Charles remained with the Octopus with a tentacle in his ear. Another eternity later the Admiral returned and removed the creature and let Charles free._

Spock pulled out of the meld. "Thank you Charles. You have been very helpful. So that the perpetrator is unaware of what we have done on Admiral Archers orders you will be returned to your cell at security as soon as Doctor McCoy deems you are ready to be moved. If we were to set you free I am sure he would guess what we have done. Just in case he does guess, we will do our best to ensure that you have extra security from now on," he informed Charles as he rose to leave.

As they were walking out Jim looked at his mate with a raised eyebrow of his own.

"_I have all the information we need to conduct an investigation into Admiral Komack now Ashayam. Of course, it will be at the discretion of Admiral Archer."_ Spock informed him.

Jim's only show of emotion was a small smile as he spoke back to Spock inside their minds. _"Awesome! Now, we have to let Archer and Pike know what you found."_

OoO

On the xi home world, a crowd had gathered outside of The Prophet's cave. From all over the planet The Prophet's fellow squids had felt its shiver through the waters and had come to find out what it had gleaned from the Universe.

The Prophet sent out tendrils of its consciousness throughout the waters to the entire gathering giving them a clear picture of The Warlord. It was not one being, but two; the picture clarified in the minds of the xi squids of two humanoid males. One appeared to be Human, blond haired and blue eyed and standing to his side appeared to be a Vulcan. The surprise was that the supposed Human's eyes kept changing from blue to an angry glowing red, which was not a trait of any species with which the xi were familiar.

The Universe had shared with The Prophet additional knowledge that needed to be known about The Warlord, it had to come with the harshest warning possible, therefore The Prophet turned itself bright orange, the color of their blood. Once it had captured the complete attention of the gathering it passed the remainder of the information: The Warlord had somehow figured out what they were doing and was already moving.

**End note: Please leave a review! I want to know if this & the previous chapter answered most of the outstanding questions posed so far. Thanks!**


	21. Chapter 21A Little Family Power Struggle

Standard Disclaimer, you know: I don't own Star Trek, don't make any $, & all that.

Thanks to Trekkergurl, my Beta.

I originally wrote this chapter and the next as one but it was running way too long so I broke it two parts. This is the shorter of the two. Enjoy!

Chapter 21 – A Little Family Power Struggle

OoO

Jim was exhausted when he entered their apartment. He had just finished Professor Skur's final in Spatial Battle Tactics. Several times during the term he had reminded himself that Pike had recommended that he wait until he was closer to the end of his studies to take this class; preferably his last semester. It had always been one of the most difficult classes in the Command Tract, for a good reason: as his good friend McCoy had told him, space _was _full of death, disease wrapped in silence and darkness. As a leader it was your responsibility to keep your crew as safe as possible.

What Jim did not know was that Skur had taken it as a personal affront that a cadet in only his second semester had dared to take his class. And, since Jim had actually dared to excel in the class, he made it a personal project to make Jim's final as difficult as possible.

The simulation had been a battle against three groups of three individual fighter ships and one large mother ship. That in itself had been unusual raising the level of difficulty. The only race the Federation had contact with that fought that way were the Aaaquak, a hive minded insectoid species. To add to the stress he was only allowed to choose four fellow students to be assistants, none of whom could be in the command tract. Other ship members would be filled in by computer. Jim chose Pavel Chekov as his Astrogations Expert, as well as general genius in residence; Hikaru Sulu as the Pilot and Weapons Expert; Montgomery Scott as the One and Only Engineer and Nyota Uhura as Communications Expert. They were a great team and the test had gone as well as could be expected. He got them out of it by the skin of his teeth, but with damage to the ship and loss of twenty seven out of the 420 crew members.

That part of the test had been challenging and exhilarating. The killer part came afterward during the three hour debrief with Professor Skur, joined by Admirals Barnett, Chandra, Lui and Nogura as the panel. They required him to give a detailed explanation of every decision he made during the battle. By the time he left, he was feeling like his brain had been pulled out through his ears, liquefied and poured back in. If anyone had asked him a question, even his name, he would have been unable to formulate an answer.

He trudged like a zombie into the bedroom where he collapsed halfway onto the bed and fell instantly asleep. Therefore, he was unaware of the two figures who had been quietly talking in the living room when he entered that had quickly followed him into the bedroom to ensure he was alright. One of them was his mate, the other was his mother.

Spock performed a light meld and determined that Jim was merely asleep. He turned to Winona to share what he had gleaned from the meld, "James is sleeping. His mind required immediate rest and he will awaken in 3.357 hours. I will make him more comfortable and we can continue our conversation."

While he was talking he began removing Jim's boots and rearranging his almost boneless body fully onto the bed and put a pillow under his head. Winona was pleased to be able to pick up on Spock's devotion to Jim as he positioned her son so that when he woke he would not have the stiff neck he would surely have gotten if he had remained in the position he was in. When he finished, Spock ran his fingers lightly over Jim's psi points, causing Jim to sigh and relax into a natural position. Spock then covered him with the light blanket that was there for just that purpose.

OoO

When Jim woke up he vaguely remembered Spock minimally undressing and putting covers over him. As he stretched, Jim realized that he felt like a person again, so he changed into a pair of jeans, a plain white t-shirt and a pair of slippers. Then he shuffled out of the bedroom into the kitchen in hopes of a cup of coffee. He was surprised when he found a freshly brewed pot sitting there, only it was already half emptied; someone besides himself and Spock was there. If it was someone he needed to be dressed for Spock would have left out appropriate clothes, so he filled his giant mug and walked into the living room.

Immediately he noticed her bright blond hair, however, her back was to him and she was shielding tightly so he didn't recognize her. But after a couple of steps he caught the light scent of a familiar perfume causing his brain to fully reboot.

"MOM," Jim yelled, trying not to stumble or spill his coffee in his haste to get to her.

Winona stood and moved toward her son, catching the coffee and handing it to Spock who was right behind her, before she was enveloped in... Jim. Not only did he hug her with his physical body, but his emotions flowed over her like warm water, caressing her in his love. She was astounded at how he was able to project now. Normally she would only feel his emotions through the mother-son bond that they had.

"Excellent Jimmy! How did you intend that to feel?" Winona asked. She was excited because she had known for several years now that the moment would come when Jim would finally figure out how to project. T'remel had told her he would after Jim's 'seeing'. Jim didn't want to know anything from that but T'remel did talk to Winona about what he had 'seen' and Winona had listened. T'remel had spoken of a Vulcan male who would be Jim's Ama; Jim harnessing his ability to project his emotions; powerful grandchildren and there were some things she would rather not think about her son having to deal with; things she knew that Jim would have railed against had he heard them.

"My intention was for my love for you to caress you like slowly flowing, warm water; what did you think?" he asked as he placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Then it was perfect!" she replied beaming, hugging him tightly.

"Thanks Mom." Jim moved out of her arms so he could include Spock in the conversation before he continued, "I see you and Spock have been getting acquainted."

"Why yes we have Jimmy," Winona said, looking at her son with an expression that made him want to squirm like he was a five year old again. "You've been having nightmares about the Ha'Tshi."

Jim shot Spock a dirty look out of the corner of his eye. _"You had to tell her before I even saw her!"_ Jim accused him through the bond.

"_We both love you and are concerned for your health. She could sense that there was something wrong beyond the fact that you were exhausted from a difficult final examination as soon as you entered the apartment Ashayam. I am sorry if I overstepped my boundaries in caring for you."_ Spock replied.

Jim sighed. He reached for Spock's hand with his first two fingers in a kiss, sending in love and forgiveness. _"It's okay. Nothing to apologize for love. You did the right thing. But, you don't know her, my Mom has a tendency to be a pain in the ass."_

"Yes _Mother_, I've have been having nightmares about the Ha'Tshi," Jim said, returning his attention to his mother.

Winona had been watching them during the short lull in the conversation and was surprised by what she learned. She caught them both unaware by what she said, "You two talk to each other in your heads, don't you?!"

"Of course Mom, it's part of the bond. I thought you knew that, it was how I was able to contact him when I was abducted. I may be a lot of things, but I'm no telepath!" Jim told his Mother. He was hoping that she had gotten herself off track, but her next statement illustrated to him just how well she could jump from one topic to another and back again.

"Look Jimmy, don't always think the worst motherly things of me," she said with a laugh. "I am thinking I can help you get to Veenu faster than you could get there using a commercial transport. You remember Captain Surry?"

Jim nodded. Joshua Surry was a longtime friend of Winona's. He had been her first romantic bond. Their relationship had lasted for three years until she was eighteen. Her father had died and her mother had moved taking the Brook family to Earth for a new start. It was Joshua's determination to enter the planetary defense force that had inspired Winona to join Starfleet where she then met the love of her life, George Kirk.

"Well, he likes you, so I'm sure he would help." Winona smiled as she told him.

"Well, that was my last final for the term, and Spock has his graded already, so after the ball we should be free to go!" Jim said as he looked to Spock for confirmation.

"Affirmative," was the reply.

OoO

The following morning Jim was in the kitchen making coffee for himself and tea for Spock when he heard the comm and ran to answer hoping it was his mother with an invitation to breakfast. They had invited her to stay in one of the extra bedrooms but she refused saying that after several years on a starship she wanted some serious privacy. Jim couldn't blame her for that. So when he saw Sarek's sour face he was disappointed.

"Good morning sir, I will get Spock for you. Please hold," he intoned doing a perfect Vulcan imitation. Jim was certain that Sarek didn't call to speak with _him._

He walked into the bedroom where he couldn't help but admire his mate's ass as he bent to pick up his shoes. The spark of lust that traveled through the bond caused Spock to look at him, still bent over. "Do you like what you see James?" he said, his voice down that extra octave where he knew it drove Jim wild.

Jim grinned at him like a fool and said, "you know I do Ashayam, but right now it's time for taking care of business. Sarek is on the horn."

Spock stood and turned to him before he deadpanned, "depending on the exact type of horn, that could be a very uncomfortable position."

His statement had the desired effect; it caused Jim to laugh. "Well, I suppose he'll have to remove the steel pole before he can fit the horn up there!" Jim managed to get out between guffaws.

Spock shook his head at his mate as he walked out to speak with his father.

"Father," Spock intoned.

"Tu t'nash-veh ko-fu stariben Vuhlkansu tu sa-mekh1," Sarek told him sternly.

"No," Spock replied. "Here, in my home, I will speak as I choose. In your office or at our family home I will speak Vuhlkansu if that is your choice. However, if it is your desire to speak Vuhlkansu to keep information from James, please be aware that it will not work because he is fluent in our language."

"Because it is your desire I will keep our discourse in Standard. It was in no way intended to hide anything. It is simply easiest to speak in our native tongue." Sarek intoned.

He continued after a slight pause, "the nature of the communication was to request your presence at a family dinner tonight at Tav'Sal'Nava t'Terra2."

"I will ask James and Winona." Spock replied.

"No," Sarek said, "they are not invited."

Spock closed his eyes for a moment as he tamped down his anger before he replied, "Father, they are _my_ family."

Sarek raised one eyebrow and replied, "they are _not_ my family and therefore, not invited to this family dinner." He paused. "Your Mother is looking forward to your presence. Reservations are for 1800 hours."

"_Go Spock, Mom and I will go out for Italian." _Jim told Spock through the bond.

"I will come to be with Mother." Spock replied and cut the connection.

He walked over to Jim and pulled him into an embrace. No matter how much Jim had said it didn't matter to him, Spock could feel how much Sarek's declaration hurt him. "I do not like that Sarek is excluding you and Winona," Spock whispered into his ear.

"I know k'diwa. I don't like it either. And I _know _my mother will be astronomically pissed. But we will deal with it with dignity, because we're better people than that. And we absolutely will not show your father any weakness," Jim replied.

"Indeed," Spock whispered into his ear.

As Jim predicted Winona was 'astronomically pissed'. If the possibility existed for such a thing there would have been steam coming from her ears as she paced their kitchen floor.

"That son of a bitch!" Winona exclaimed when Jim told her.

Spock refrained from reminding her that his father was not the offspring of a dog. He had always liked his ko'makh-il, T'Pau, she was much more supportive of him and his duel heritage than any other Vulcan.

Winona thought for a moment then narrowed her eyes and asked, "What restaurant?"

"Tav'Sal'Nava t'Terra," Spock replied.

Winona nodded, went to the comm and contacted Chris Pike to see if he could get them in. When he didn't have any contacts that could get them into that restaurant he suggested that she contact Archer because he knew a lot more people.

Winona then contacted Admiral Archer.

"Winona Kirk, what can I do for a lovely young woman such as yourself?" Archer blatantly flirted.

"Admiral, are you actually flirting with me? I'm young enough to be your great-granddaughter!" Winona laughed and winked at him. "Besides the fact that technically, you are my commanding officer, being Fleet Admiral and all. So even flirting could be construed as sexual harassment these days."

"Why yes I am flirting with you Winona! Why not? I'm so damn old it seems the parts don't seem to work anymore, so flirting is all I _can_ do." Archer said as he laughed back. "As far as the sexual harassment goes, well I suppose I'm guilty as charged, at least in the flirting category. But I bet you are going to ask for a favor, aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged sir!" she laughed, saluting. "Can you by any chance get reservations for myself and Jim at Tav'Sal'Nava t'Terra tonight?"

"I can smell a Vulcan family problem," Archer said sagely.

"Your sense of smell has not faltered Jon," Winona replied.

Archer raised a gray brow and tapped his forehead. "I have an idea. I'll have to get back to you, but if I can pull this off, it will be good!" Archer said smiling with a sly smile before he cut the comm.

Ten minutes later the comm buzzed. It was Archer who had a one of those grins on his face that could only be described as 'shit eating', which looked a bit unusual on a face his age.

"Well, spill it Admiral. Don't just sit there looking like the proverbial fox that just got into the equally proverbial hen house!" Winona exclaimed.

Jim hid a laugh in Spock's shoulder at his mother's exclamation.

"I got the low-down from T'Pau. Sarek wants to keep Jim and Spock separated as much as possible tonight, until, he thinks, that she will sever their bond tomorrow morning." Archer laughed before he continued, "which, by the way, she told me she has no intention of doing. Something about feeling Spock's happiness through their familial bond."

Upon hearing that, Jim had to lock his knees to keep from slumping to the ground as the tension he didn't even know he'd been holding drained from his body. Spock held him by the wrist and sent him love, support and also his relief at hearing T'Pau's statement.

Archer smiled, having seen Jim and Spock relax in the background. "Well, T'Pau arranged for a table adjacent to theirs. Sarek had planned on a private room, but T'Pau is going to circumvent that so that they will be in the main dining room. However, the only way this works is if I come with you. Our reservations are for 1800 sharp! I'll be sending a car to pick you up at 1730. Since we will go to the ball directly from there so bring your clothes to change into after dinner. I will see you there." He said.

Archer then looked at Spock momentarily, then he chuckled adding, "Spock just an FYI, I have loved antagonizing your father for many years! So, be prepared." Laughing out loud, he cut the transmission.

"Of that Admiral, I am aware," Spock intoned to the blank screen, left eyebrow raised causing both Jim and Winona to laugh.

OoO

Dinner started off on a bad foot for the Vulcan group. Sarek was very perturbed about the seating arrangement and began berating the restaurant staff until T'Pau entered and told him to stop.

Spock was always amazed at how a small woman like T'Pau could always seem to tower over someone when she wanted to, and that had been one of those times. He watched with interest as she looked down her nose at Sarek, and told him to sit while she apologized to the manager for her son's outburst. When she stated that he was emotionally compromised, Sarek's entire visage became even stiffer than usual and his eyes became dark, his face a mask covering his anger.

Amanda Grayson 'cha Sarek hid her smile while she watched the drama with T'Pau play out. The Matriarch had been correct when she said that Sarek was emotionally compromised. He_ thought_ he was doing what was best for Spock and for the blood line of Surak and in that light, Spock's emotional well-being was irrelevant.

Amanda had been trying to reason with him since T'Pring first contacted him about her bond with Spock breaking; if Spock was truly happy with James, Amanda thought he should be permitted to live his life with him. Sarek's response had been that his happiness was irrelevant. T'Pring had always thought Spock was a lower life form because he was half-human. Because of that Amanda had never liked her. Spock had cried on the night of the bonding because of the loathing he felt in her mind toward him. Sarek told him he had to endure it like a proper Vulcan and close his mind to the emotions. If it was possible there would have been steam coming out of her ears!

Sarek objected to James Kirk based mainly on the fact that he was Human. That hurt her deeply, but Sarek flat out refused to discuss that with her. Sarek had said that he objected to Kirk based solely on the fact that he would be unable to bear children. How could Sarek have forgotten that he couldn't lie to his bond mate? He had tried to shield his reasons but she was not psi null and was able to discern his true reasons. Well, if he thought that she was going to take this lying down, he had another thing coming! Spock was her son too, after all and if Sarek hadn't learned anything about Human mothers yet, he would very soon.

Amanda had met the dashing and mysterious Vulcan Ambassador at a lecture she had been invited to give on teaching those who were both sight and hearing impaired at a Federation conference. When he had come to speak with her at the following reception she had become lost in his black eyes. It didn't take long for him to begin formally courting her. The first time he had touched her she had lost her heart to him completely. She had never felt such love and devotion from anyone.

Spock's love of languages had begun when she taught Spock American Sign Language. As he became adept at the basics of signing she taught him how to sign to someone who was also blind; to someone who was completely locked inside their own mind. It had provided them a private method of communication. Sarek had seen how this new method of communicating sparked a curiosity in young Spock for languages. Therefore, he had encouraged Amanda to teach him any and all languages she knew: Standard, Italian, Spanish, Mandarin, Swahili and Russian.

That had made it easy for Amanda and Spock to converse in sign language during their dinner. The topic of their discussion happened to be sitting at the next table not even making an attempt to be surreptitious in watching them. He totally ignored his Mother and Admiral Archer acting like he was simply staring off into space. Amanda thought it was amusing watching how Jim barely kept his eyes off of Spock. At one point, when Sarek went to the rest room, Amanda waved at Jim and he didn't even notice. He only had eyes for Spock.

Winona and Jonathan Archer made sure that when they were seated at their table Jim was facing the Vulcan's. They both knew that he would be miserable throughout the dinner, so they sat him so that he could at least _see _Spock. Winona attempted to include her son in the various conversations she had with the Admiral, but it became obvious early on that his attention was elsewhere.

Jim never realized he was being rude to his host; after all it was Admiral Archer that got them into the restaurant. He was simply oblivious to that aspect of the situation. After his food arrived, he barely touched it; mostly he just pushed it around on his plate. He simply watched as Spock communicated with his mother, sometimes Helen Keller style signing on her hands under the table.

The Vulcans finished their meal first. Just as they were leaving the table, T'Pring pulled Spock to the side to speak to him privately. Loath though he was at hearing any more insults from her, he agreed.

T'Pring turned to face him for the first time since the dinner had started. Her eyes burned with hatred as she stated flatly, "if your father succeeds in binding you to me once more it will be only temporary. When your Time comes and we are called to koon-ut-kal-if-fee3 I will call for the kal-if-fee and I will ensure that you lose." With that she whipped around and stalked off to the waiting air car.

As Jim was getting into the car he felt Spock become angry about something. He saw that T'Pring had detained him so Jim could assume it was something she told him. So, naturally he reached for him througPh the bond to offer him comfort and found Spock had put up his strongest shields. Jim didn't know what she told him, but he would find out. Spock was _his_ and no bitch who felt disdain for who he was could touch him!

Please Review!

1 Tu t'nash-veh ko-fu stariben Vuhlkansu tu sa-mekh – Vulcan -

2 Tav'Sal'Nava t'Terra – Vulcan - Finest House of Earth; a Vulcan run hotel modeled after the original Tav'Sal'Nava in Shi'Kahr.

3 Koon-ut-kal-if-fee – Vulcan – The place of marriage (koon-ut) or challenge (kal-if-fee)


	22. Chapter 22 The Triennial Starfleet Ball

This is the long, 2nd half of the last chapter. I hope you like it. More action again in the next chapter.

Thanks for sticking with me!

And, as always, special thanks to Trekkergurl for being my Beta!

Chapter 22 – The Triennial Starfleet Ball

OoO

Jim and Winona had sent their clothes ahead with Admiral Archer's driver so when they were picked up from dinner they just rode along to the Formal Reception Building. Jim had never been inside before. Winona had been there previously with George during their time at the academy. Archer and Winona chatted on the ride while Jim sat silently thinking that all he wanted to do was get the Admiral alone for a couple of minutes so he could ask about Komack.

Jim got his chance while they were changing. He got as close as he could to Archer without setting off bells and whistles. "Admiral, can we talk on the QT in here?" he asked.

"We can Jim. And I know what you're gonna ask. He's under observation. So far he hasn't done anything subversive. We've gotten new bugs in his office so if he does anything we'll know. All the security that was working with him has checked out clean so far, now that we know what to look for, thanks to Dr. McCoy. Does that answer your question?" Archer spoke knowing exactly what needed to be said.

Jim nodded in confirmation.

Archer nodded back, then raised one bushy gray brow saying, "one more thing son, he will be here tonight so behave yourself, understand?"

Jim had only just put on his pants so he quickly fastened them so they wouldn't fall down as he snapped to attention, saluted and said "aye Sir!"

Archer snorted a little laugh as he smiled crookedly and returned, "a simple yes would've done. Now finish getting dressed."

The Formal Reception Building was one of the jewels of Starfleet Academy buildings, being built by the Federation to show their greatest in Earthquake Resistant Technology. It was not a tall building being only three stories, however, it did feature a large amount of "glass". Much to the surprise of many who visited, the majority of the building which appeared to be large glass windows in actuality were transparent aluminum windows. If transparent aluminum windows could withstand the rigors of a Starship, they would definitely withstand the rigors of an earthquake.

It had also been built on the most questionable soil substrate. The type of soil known to liquefy in an earthquake. The underlying bedrock had been very deep but, using advanced robotics there were eight support pillars in parallel rows, every sixteen feet apart from front to back, with three nanobot coated sliding discs of material, one at the top, the next in the middle and the last at the bottom. Inside the building had been reinforced throughout. All in all it was designed to withstand shaking and twisting that would tear most buildings apart.

Once they had changed, Jim and Winona said their thanks to Admiral Archer and entered the main area from the right side onto the balcony. Just as the building itself was a showcase of human engineering in the use of marginal soils in an earthquake zone, the interior was the same for holo emitter technology. The look and feel of the interior was controlled by holo emitters placed in strategic locations throughout the room. In addition, for those who felt like exploring the technology further there were six fully equipped holo decks in the back.

The theme for the look of the interior for this ball was crystal and candles. There was a huge crystal chandelier in the center with hundreds of flickering candles. At varied intervals there were crystal sconces along the walls in styles from the different worlds of the Federation. There were crystal statues under the edges of the interior balcony, each one lit from behind by candles. The overall impression was stunning. Refracted colors from the crystals played on the people as they moved around the room adding to the beauty of the evening.

Jim and Winona took the side ramp which wound around the transparent aluminum windows onto the main floor. As they were descending, Jim who had been working really hard throughout dinner to contain his more primitive side, could see T'Pring standing next to Spock; not just next to him, very close to him. It was way too close for Jim. He felt the small hairs on the back of his neck stand as his eyes narrowed and his hands balled into fists; T'Pring had become 'the enemy'.

Winona could feel the primitive s'treu possessiveness taking over and reached out for Jim's arm. He shook his arm hard to remove her hand, stopped, turned, feet planted for a fight and growled at her with a sneer.

Winona wasn't cowed by her son. It was a reaction that she really should have expected given the situation. On Veenu it would have been accepted, but not here. She reached up and slapped him across the face, hard and growled back at him, "control yourself son!"

He looked at her, but he wasn't quite with her yet so she slapped him on the other cheek. Grabbing him by both shoulders she shook him hard. "Come on Jimmy, get a hold of yourself. Snap out of it."

As it sunk in he looked at her briefly, took a deep breath and his pupils contracted back to normal. He buried his head in his hands. "Fuck," he whispered.

Jim looked up and met his mother's eyes. "Oh my Gods Mom. You are so right, that is definitely something I need to control. I'm sure there are going to be times on missions when people will flirt with, get close to or touch either one of us. Thanks for catching me," he said.

"So, now how bad does my face look?" Jim asked her sheepishly after a minute unconsciously straightening his uniform.

Winona hugged him and said, "well, at least it's even! Seriously, your cheeks are red, that's all. Looks like you've been in the sun but you had sunscreen on your nose."

"Fuck," he said as he scrunched his eyes shut and ran his hand through his hair before he looked up and started walking again.

At the bottom of the ramp they found Captain Pike. Chris had been there, waiting for them, specifically for Winona. It had been a long time since he had seen her in person. She was wearing a red Andorian silk gown that accented her body perfectly, matching red heels that wouldn't kill her feet and minimal make up; brows, liner, mascara, blush and red lipstick. Her thick, shoulder length, golden blond hair had a naturally soft curl and was pinned back off her face. From what he could see of her, she was dressed to impress. What Chris wasn't aware of was that she was dressed to impress _him_.

Christopher Pike had always thought that Winona was beautiful. As George Kirk's best friend and eventual best man he had gotten to know her over their years in the academy and then serving together. His memory of her actions on Tarsus IV and how she had been able to calm Jim had given him a deep, abiding respect for her.

He knew from Admiral Archer that Winona and Jim would come down from the balcony, so he ensconced himself at the bottom of the ramp and waited for her. When she had first stepped out onto the balcony he saw her and she had taken his breath away. The dress she was wearing revealed nothing and everything at the same time.

He had to act nonchalant so he could appear as if he was there accidentally. One of his fellow captains, Mark Lloyd, wandered by so Chris engaged him in small talk asking about his ship, the Science Vessel USS Kennedy which was currently in space dock for small upgrades to it's instrumentation. All the while, Pike kept surreptitiously watching Winona's progress down the ramp.

When Winona reached the bottom of the ramp she walked over to the two captains. Pike acted surprised to see her, even though they both knew that he had been watching her since the top of the ramp.

"Well hello Winona, you look stunning this evening." Pike greeted her, then turned to Jim and said, "Hi Jim. You know, you really need to take better care of yourself. Next time you're in the sun, spread your sunscreen a little more evenly across your face."

That caused Jim to turn evenly red; as red as his uniform. He looked up at his mother in embarrassment. "Mother," was all he said to her. She shrugged.

Pike looked back and forth between the two, he had missed the slapping scene on the ramp.

Jim shifted his gaze back over to Pike and finally acknowledged him with a nod, "Captain Pike," he said.

Winona caught Jim's attention once more placing a hand on his shoulder. "Jimmy, just remember what we talked about. Okay?"

Jim smiled and nodded to her. Then he wished his Mother and Captain Pike well and drifted into the crowd. All he could think of was his mate standing with that petaQ1 female that hated everything about him. His Mother had been correct in telling him to control the primitive side of himself. He felt it trying to overwhelm him with every thought of _the Vulcan Bitch._

He thought that luck was on his side when he felt a slap on his back, figuring it was one of his friends. However, when he turned he found it was one of the few people he did _not_ want to see. It was the other person who knew of his elementary school pranks who was at the Academy, Mike Sweeney.

"Well, if it isn't the freak Jimmy Kirk, here at the Academy!" Sweeney crooned to his three buddies as he pushed Jim's shoulder. "Aren't you gonna do something about that freak?"

Jim stood his ground. He could smell the alcohol on the group of them. "No Mike, I'm not going to do anything. It seems I've grown up a lot more than you have. Besides this is a really bad place to start something here dude if you really want to stay in Starfleet."

He could feel Sweeney's anger as Mike sneered, "what ya gonna do Jimmy, tell on us?" When he finished the sentence he pushed Jim really hard trying to unbalance him. Jim was ready for it, so all he needed to do was put one foot back.

Through his peripheral vision he could see security coming, so he made sure he didn't raise a finger. There were plenty of witnesses around them watching everything that happened.

Mike got right into his face so Jim could feel his breath when he spoke, "what is so fucking special with you Kirk that you could disappear for years and then suddenly… here you are? Was it because of your hero daddy?" He was about to grab Jim by the shoulders to the cheering on of his friends when Mike found himself grabbed instead by a security officer who slapped a set of electronic cuffs on him and escorted him from the room.

Jim looked at Mike's friends and said, "I told him that this wasn't the right place to start something. If you guys have had as much to drink as he has I'd advise you to go sober up."

Jim started to move off as the little crowd that had gathered quickly broke up. Until it hit him that during that entire conversation with Sweeney he felt no anger toward him whatsoever. That caused him to stop dead in his tracks and realize that it was because of the meditation sessions he and Spock had been doing to assist Jim in controlling his emotions. Then, for the first time since Sarek had called that morning Jim felt some of the tension ease from his body. Just the thought of Spock and he could feel a solid pull to his left telling him the location of his mate and he couldn't help but drift in that direction.

The first person from the group he came into contact with was Amanda Grayson, Spock's mother. Jim had watched them interact at dinner. It looked like they were speaking to each other using sign language. Jim had tried to teach it to himself but without someone to practice with had lost most of it.

Sarek had been attempting to keep a tight rein on her all night. However, Amanda was Human and she was on Earth again and in a crowd of mostly Human's. It had been many years since she was among her own kind and she was determined to enjoy it. When she told him, under no uncertain terms that she was going to mingle he reiterated what a stubborn Human she was but allowed her to give him a Vulcan kiss before she wandered off.

Amanda had not wandered far when she almost walked right into the one Human she wanted most to see, Jim Kirk. When their eyes met they smiled at each other. She was the first to speak, "so you are the one who has stolen my son's heart!"

Jim's smile twisted into one she could only note as being self-deprecating as he said, "I didn't mean to steal it, really Ma'am."

She noted that as he spoke he had begun twisting his hands nervously. "Sorry Jim, I didn't mean it that way. I'm glad that Spock is happy and content. He was never really happy on Vulcan."

Amanda had moved closer to Jim and was about to suggest that they move out of range of the Vulcan's when she heard Sarek's voice, "my wife, attend."

She knew that he didn't want her to talk to Jim, but that was one of the ideas she had for her exploration. So it ticked her off that he was trying to control who she talked to, so she let him know what she thought with one word. "No," she said.

Sarek raised an eyebrow and repeated his request, "my wife, attend."

Instead of simply repeating herself, she let him have her argument. "Sarek, I told you I was going to mingle with my fellow Human's. I will speak to whoever I desire while I am doing so. At this time I will _not_ attend!" she told him and simply walked away expecting that Jim would follow her.

Before he did, he looked at Spock because he could feel his shock and pleasure at his mother's little rebellion. Spock nodded his acknowledgment and Jim winked back. He had to go with Amanda to hear what she had to say.

Jim followed her as she headed straight to the doors leading to the balcony where it would be was less crowded. It was a magnificent evening but Jim could care less because he was with Spock's Mother and she was more beautiful in person than she was in any hologram or photograph. And to tell the absolute truth, Jim was totally awed by the fact that she basically told Sarek to stick it where the sun doesn't shine!

Amanda turned to Jim and smiled as she spoke, "Jim, do you mind if I call you Jim?" He shook his head. "Good, Spock said he called you James, but Jim is more comfortable for me," she said, giving him a good looking over for the first time.

"Well, I must say you are a handsome one! You two will have some beautiful children." As she said that last line she watched Jim's brows climb to his hair line and his eyes get big.

"Wow, you and Spock said quite a bit to each other," Jim said shocked. "What else did he tell you?"

"The most important thing in the world, you are his T'hy'la, his k'hat'n'dlawa. This is the most sacred bond among Vulcan's and has been unheard of for centuries. That's one of the reasons that Sarek is so... doubtful," she chuckled, "kindest word I could think of, of the fact that you have that type of bond."

Jim shook his head. "Ma'am, I don't know how much you or Sarek knows about Veenan's but we have to form empathic bonds with people in order to have any type of romantic relationship with them. Very, very rarely does this bond happen spontaneously, but that's what happened with us. It's called an Amana bond and among Veenan's it is as sacred as the T'hy'la bond is to Vulcan's." Jim explained.

"No wonder you two can hardly stand to be apart," Amanda said. "And, by the way, no more calling me ma'am. You can call me Amanda when we are not in Sarek's presence. Lady Amanda when he's around. Or you can just call me Mother at any time. I'd prefer Mother, but I know you already have one of your own."

Jim laughed a little before he said, "I only call my Mom Mother when I'm making a point or I'm irritated. But I think Amanda would be less confusing."

He paused, giving her the once over before he said, "you know Amanda you're one pretty scrappy little women! I couldn't believe you told Sarek to stick it like that!"

Amanda giggled for a moment and looked out over the bay. She became serious once and turned back to Jim before saying, "he really isn't as bad as he looks. He loves me and believe it or not, he loves Spock. Everything he has done throughout Spock's life has been for what he believes is Spock's own good. He believes that Spock should be a good Vulcan. However, Spock is only half Vulcan. I did my best to help Spock with his Human side, behind his back of course."

Jim had been listening intently. He wanted to learn as much as he could about Sarek, who seemed to him like the Vulcan Ogre. But when Amanda mentioned helping Spock with his Human heritage, Jim had to comment. "We've talked about you giving him Human lessons. I thought that was really awesome!"

"Why thank you Jim. Do you think it's helped or hurt him; as a person, I mean?" Amanda asked.

"Definitely helped. I know what he went through as much as he knows what I did. His childhood was no picnic. I don't think he ever accepted who he was while he was on Vulcan. But I know he does now." Jim replied.

"Good." Amanda pulled Jim into a hug. Then held him by the shoulders at arm's length and told him, "I really like you Jim. You're good for my boy. I truly don't think that he really accepted who he was until he met and bonded with you. Together you two are much greater than two or four or one hundred. Do you understand?"

He nodded feeling a bit numb at her statement. _'Can everyone see things around us?'_ Jim thought to himself before saying out loud, "yeah, I understand, synergy. Admiral Archer said the same thing." He sighed and mentally sagged into himself.

Amanda was not psi blind, she felt Jim's pain. "What is it Jim? What bothered you when I said that?"

Once again Amanda had surprised him. She was certainly more than she appeared. "Implications," he said and sighed, looking at his feet before he continued. "Implications that our lives are not really our own. That we have some kind of destiny."

Amanda put a finger under his chin and lifted it so he looked up at her. She brushed her fingers along his forehead and over his psi points in an unconscious gesture of comfort she had used with Spock. "I am sure you know the term kaiidth?" she asked.

Jim nodded.

"Well, it is a philosophy, not just a word. You need to accept things for what they are Jim." As she said this she could see that he was very conflicted. "Look, I can see that you are still having problems with this and I want to help you, but here is not the place. I feel there is a very deep wound in your soul that won't allow you to embrace your own future. After the ceremony with T'Pau tomorrow I want to help you." She said that with such earnestness and desire to help him that Jim truly believed, for the first time, that someone might actually be able to help seal the hole in his soul caused by what he had done on Tarsus IV.

Jim smiled and nodded saying, "absolutely Amanda, I would like to talk to you more." He pulled her into a hug saying into her ear, "and thank you, for everything."

Jim watched her disappear back inside before he self-consciously straightened his dress uniform and walked in himself. As he walked he didn't pay attention to where he was, only that he stayed near the perimeter of the room. He avoided the area where the musicians and dancers were located without thought, heading toward the pull in his mind.

Totally unaware of where he was and who was around him, Jim passed his Mother and Captain Pike who were standing by one of the refreshment tables. Winona, being the curious woman she was, followed. It wasn't difficult for her to guess his destination: Spock. She wanted to see what he was going to do and, if needed, intervene. Chris Pike followed directly behind Winona, curiosity being one of his greatest strengths, or weaknesses depending on how you looked at it.

Winona and Chris watched as Jim came to a stop behind one of the pillars that supported that part of the ramp, approximately thirty feet from where Spock was standing with T'Pring. All he did was stand there and watch them for about five minutes before T'Pring leaned toward Spock and said something to him. Spock said something to her in return then looked directly at Jim.

Jim took that as a direct invitation and went to him. He walked calmly even though he wanted to run. It would have been terribly undignified of him to run to Spock, jump on him and wrap his legs around his waist. He sent that mental picture to Spock who raised an eyebrow and returned a picture of their apartment.

As Jim closed the last couple of steps he noticed that Spock was holding his fingers for a kiss and as soon as he could he was only too happy to oblige him. It shocked most of the Vulcan's present, who knew Sarek's opinion of Jim, when he walked over to Spock and kissed him as a bond mate then proceeded to stare into his eyes.

The only Vulcan present who was not shocked was T'Pau. Spock was half-human after all and no matter how much Sarek had wanted him to be a perfect Vulcan he never would be. T'Pau found that she was content that he had found someone who accepted him for exactly who he turned out to be. She did not understand why Sarek could not see it. He made opinions on the Kirk boy based on assumptions about Human males who commonly formed casual relationships with others. However, the Kirk boy's mother was not Human, she was Veenan, making him very different. She had even heard a rumor of a third gender among Veenan's called a s'treu, that appeared male but was more than male.

T'Pau had been around for a long time and she had very sharp instincts. As soon as Jim had walked over to Spock her instincts had told her there was a 98.45% chance of trouble between Jim and T'Pring, so she starting moving in that direction without calling attention to herself.

Jim glanced over in T'Pring's direction then asked through their bond, _"what did the petaQ bitch say to you before you left dinner that got you upset Ashayam?" _

Spock raised an eyebrow, amusement showing in his eyes. _"An irrelevant threat because I have you k'diwa. It is nothing to be concerned with,"_ Spock replied.

The primal s'treu emotions that had been sitting behind the scenes since his mother had put Jim in his place earlier took over once more. He automatically placed himself between Spock and T'Pring, looked over at her and growled low in his throat, "Spock is _**Mine**__."_

T'Pring looked back, raised an eyebrow at Jim and straightened further. She looked down her nose, even though she was shorter than both men and said, disdain dripping from her voice, "you are welcome to him, _Human_."

Jim could feel the hatred pouring from her. He found that to be sobering and that caused him to have an epiphany. Instead of her anger forming a feedback loop within him as it would have in the past, it served as a catalyst for inner growth. If nothing else the emotion itself was highly illogical and extremely _Human_. He couldn't help himself, he took a step closer to her, blue eyes blazing into black and whispered, "I feel the hatred you are experiencing. My question is why? What is it about Humans that make you hate the entire species?"

Jim and T'Pring stared at each other for several seconds before Jim shook his head and said, "you know, I don't care about your answer, that was a rhetorical question. You are worth less than nothing to either of us." Then he turned back to Spock effectively turning his back on her.

That move infuriated T'Pring. She was worth more than he would ever know. Just as she was about to make a cutting reply she heard T'Pau's voice next to her.

"Kroykah T'Pring, kroykah2," T'Pau said.

"Ha Pid-kom3," T'Pring replied casting her eyes down.

Jim looked at Spock and said "I think we've put in our obligatory appearance. Why don't we get out of here before anything else happens?"

A smile lit Spock's eyes for the first time that evening as he said to Jim, "I find that I concur with your assessment James. Let us depart."

Jim turned to T'Pau and bowed his head then said, "Pid-kom, abi'asal4."

Spock nodded to T'Pau and said, "ko'mekh-il."

T'Pau watched the pair as they departed. She was proud of Spock's bond mate. As a Veenan, T'Pau was well aware that James was an empath and could sense the hatred from T'Pring as well as she could, yet he did not rise to her when she baited him. She was also impressed that he spoke to her in Vuhlkansu, and he had spoken with a minimal accent.

Once ensconced safely in the back seat of the air car provided for them by Admiral Archer for the return trip home, Jim asked Spock the question burning in his mind, "so Ashaya, tell me about T'Pau. You said she was your grandmother. I know that Vulcan's live longer than Humans, but... she seems old enough to be your great-great-grandmother. So what's the scoop?"

Spock looked Jim in the eye as he answered, "technically, T'Pau is my great-grandmother. However, because my father's parents perished when he was a new born and she adopted him as her own, we have always considered her to be Sarek's mother."

Jim was shocked by this revelation. He never thought that he could possibly have anything at all in common with Sarek. It was indeed a revelation to see that he did. Maybe, someday, it would help them come to understand one another. That thought caused him to smirk as he replied, "wow, somehow I can relate to that. Do you know how they died?"

"Indeed," intoned Spock as they continued to drive. "Sarek's father was also a diplomat and he was not home at the time of Sarek's birth. There had been a diplomatic incident on Tellar Prime which required the best diplomats in the Federation to resolve. Negotiations had been completed and Savon was on his return voyage when the ship they were traveling on was attacked by slavers. He was killed in the fighting along with five other Federation Ambassadors. His wife, T'Pay, daughter of T'Pau, had just given birth to Sarek when she felt the bond break. Their bond had been very strong and it had been too much for her so she followed him into death. Luckily T'Pau had been there and was able to save my father by taking his parental bonds onto herself. According to the mind healers, that not only saved him but kept the mental scarring to a minimum."

That caused Jim think about the consequences in his own family from the loss of his father. His mother had been devastated by that loss when she gave birth to him and he was a strong empath. So instead of the first feelings he received from her being joy and love, the first feelings he received from her had been loss and grief with only a splattering of love. The loss of George caused Winona to do some really stupid things while raising him, but through thick and thin his love for her had never faltered.

Jim contemplated these commonalities in silence for the remainder of their ride home.

OoO

The following morning Jim and Spock found themselves dressed in formal Vulcan robes, just inside of T'Pau's office at the Vulcan Embassy, waiting to have their bond judged. Prior to leaving their apartment they had spent two hours meditating to help enable Jim to keep his emotions quiet no matter what occurred during their 'meeting'.

During the night, Amanda and Sarek had had words because she planned to stand with Jim and Spock showing her support. It had been uncomfortable for them because, as a rule of thumb, they did not argue. However, Amanda felt strongly that Spock belonged with Jim.

Sarek had let it drop to end the argument but he was unable to just watch Amanda standing there chatting with Jim, Spock and Winona without saying anything. So he tried to call her to his side. In his typical Vulcan way he called to her, "my wife attend."

Amanda looked Sarek in the eye and replied quietly and clearly, "I will have to say no my husband, I believe I made it clear that it has been my intention to stand with my sons."

If Sarek were Human he would have sighed. He knew that would be her reply, but he had to make the attempt, one more time, to get her to stand with him.

Jim had fallen in love with Amanda's kindness and charm and he felt very protective of her, almost like she was a second mother to him. Besides the fact that she was the only reason that his mate was so open with his emotions, despite his Vulcan heritage.

Jim stood quietly as Sarek turned cold, black eyes to him and glared. Jim simply smiled and nodded at him in return.

Sarek did not object to Jim Kirk on the sole basis of the fact that he was Human, as Amanda believed; but on the fact that he was a young, handsome Human male. If James had been female, he would not have objected. While a Vulcan mate would have been preferred, Sarek would have been a hypocrite to not allow him to mate with a Human. However, young Human males were notoriously, _promiscuous_. He did not want to see his son's heart broken like that.

As Sarek was contemplating his certainty that T'Pau would refute the claim that their bond was a T'hy'la bond, two young Vulcan females entered the room from opposite corners in the back of the room. They bowed to those assembled and each pushed a button on the back wall which proceeded to break into panels which folded into each other disappearing from view.

One of the women stood to the side and intoned, "Pid-kom Surak, T'Pau." She touched another button and the inner chamber was suddenly illuminated.

T'Pau was revealed, seated on a structure resembling a medieval throne raised three steps onto a dais. She looked every bit a queen, in her purple clan robes, intricate symbols embroidered along the neck and sleeves and the Le'matya headpiece. The headpiece in itself was incredible. The cat stood on its hind legs, with its front paws, poisonous claws, extended as if it was in the about to leap on its prey, mouth opened, fangs ready to bite. In her left hand she held a staff made of sha'for5 wood with what appeared to be an enormous dilithium crystal, that was actually an uncut, lerash-khush6 on the top. Since T'Pau had to sometimes use both of her hands as she would for the meld to come, there were strategically placed hooks on the side of the throne for the staff which she took immediate advantage of.

T'Pau surveyed the room, noticing who stood with whom. She raised an eyebrow at Amanda, but did not otherwise acknowledge her. The acoustics of the room were such that when T'Pau spoke in a quiet voice it was easily heard by everyone present. "James Tiberius Kirk, S'chn T'Gai Spock present thy selves," she said.

Jim and Spock walked forward to her. She motioned for them to step up until they were on the dais in front of her. "Kneel." She said as she looked each one in the eyes. "I will have thy thoughts," she instructed them.

They knelt in front of her. She put a hand on each of their psi points, melding with them both.

"_Be at ease my sons. I will not allow my son/grandson to separate thee. I could sense the strength of thy bond when I saw thee at the ball. I will explore thy bond now. It will not hurt, but it will not be pleasant when I touch it."_ T'Pau informed them through the meld. Jim was surprised when he saw an actual smirk on her face when she spoke of Sarek.

In order for T'Pau to explore their bond she had to delve rather deeply into their minds. However, it wasn't truly unpleasant until she touched the bond itself. To Jim it felt like someone trying to open his soul. She was correct in that it did not cause pain. But it was extremely unpleasant.

T'Pau broke the meld and looked at them with an expression Jim could not categorize. She raised her eyes, giving her attention to those assembled, who she informed, "their bond is a T'hy'la bond, they are truly k'hat'n'dlawa; katras that had once been two are now one and yet they are much more. Their bond cannot be broken in their lifetimes without killing them both."

Sarek fought to contain his amazement that his son had found such a mate. The term k'hat'n'dlawa had gone out of use after the reformation because of its emotional connotation of each partner only being one half of a person without the other. To hear the term from T'Pau's lips in relation to his son made him understand that Amanda was correct.

Amanda felt content.

Jim sighed in relief. He thought that would be all, but T'Pau raised her hand instantly commanding the attention of all present. She looked Jim in the eye. He briefly felt pity in those black orbs as she gave voice to words he did not want to hear.

"There is more. Many things here are not as they seem. James' heritage has made it so that their joining will be fruitful unlike most sa-ka-ashausu7. In addition, I have foreseen that buk hath laid a heavy burden on them."

When T'Pau made her declaration of buk (fate/destiny) laying a heavy burden on them, once again Jim felt the world recede in a haze of dizziness as he heard the voices of the Ha'Tshi calling him. Luckily he was still on his knees so he didn't fall and Spock grabbed his arm to keep him from swooning.

"_Ashayam?"_ Spock inquired through the bond.

"_Ha'Tshi again Spock. It's seriously time to go!"_ Jim replied as he recovered from the vision.

Jim could feel his mother's concern for him too. He felt, more than anything else, T'Pau's eyes on him. When he looked up at her she reached out and passed her fingers over his psi points and he heard her voice, _"I am sorry I had to say that my son. However, it _did _need to be said."_

Jim nodded in return. However that didn't make him hate it less to hear it. He turned to Spock and said, "let's get out of here and go get rid of some of this tension." At the same time he sent him a picture of Spock screwing him into the mattress.

Spock raised an eyebrow at him and said, "I would be amenable to that request, as soon as we say goodbye to our mothers."

A/N: Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought!

1 PetaQ – Klingon - spineless Human child

2 Kroykah T'Pring, kroykah - Vulcan – Stop T'Pring, stop

3 Ha Pid-kom – Vulcan – Yes Matriarch

4 Pid-kom abi'asal – Vulcan – Matriarch until morning

5 Sha'for – Vulcan – Teak like wood

6 Lerash-khush – Vulcan - Diamond

7 Sa-ka-ashausu – Vulcan - Homosexual


	23. Chapter 23 Call of the Ha'Tshi

Greetings readers, a nice long chapter for you here! Thanks for being here. Please take a minute to leave a review.

Special thanks go to my awesome beta Trekkergurl!

Follows directly behind the last chapter.

_...Jim turned to Spock and said, "let's get out of here and go get rid of some of this tension." At the same time he sent him a picture of Spock screwing him into the mattress._

_Spock raised an eyebrow at him and said, "I would be amenable to that request, as soon as we say goodbye to our mothers."... _

Chapter - 23 - The Call of the Ha'Tshi

OoO

Jim and Spock had only wanted to bid farewell to their mothers, however life had other ideas. As Jim was about to hug Amanda he noticed her looking past him. He felt aggravation and amusement from her at the same time.

So he spun to face whatever or whoever was coming. Just as he saw who it was, he heard Spock greet him.

"Sa'mekh," Spock intoned.

Jim took several steps and placed himself between his mate and his father-in-law. He stood with his arms folded over his chest, feet apart and chin up. Righteous indignation surged through his veins and he narrowed his eyes which glowed with an orange tint. This was the man who had just tried to take his bond mate away from him.

"_K'diwa, go easy on my father, if for no other reason than for the future of peace in the family?"_ Spock pleads through the bond.

Jim would have laughed at Spock's plea under any other circumstances, however at the moment he was still way too pissed at Sarek. _"Don't worry babe. I won't… hurt him." _Jim returned.

Jim just stared at him, calm, eyes cold and narrowed, pushing his feelings of righteous indignation at Sarek. 

Sarek being both Vulcan and a long time Federation Ambassador was not easily intimidated. However, he could understand why Jim would act and feel as he did. The urge to protect one's mate was very powerful among Vulcan's. And Jim was bound to Spock in ways that Sarek could never comprehend.

Jim stepped up into his personal space and allowed his arms to fall to his sides. When he did all conversation in the room quieted and eyes turned in their direction. Vulcan's were nothing if not curious.

For his part, Sarek merely raised one eyebrow at him. He wanted to apologize for his errors in judgment, but it was obvious that the Human had something to say, so he would allow him to have his say.

Jim reached out and touched the pendant Sarek always wore. Spock had one exactly like it. "Sarek, what does this symbol represent?" Jim asked quietly.

"Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations," Sarek intoned.

"Hmm. And did you not marry outside your own species?" Jim asked.

"Yes, I married a Human woman as you are well aware." Sarek replied.

"Then what is your objection to me?" Jim asked, stepping even closer.

"Young Human males are notoriously promiscuous and I did not want Spock's heart broken in that manner." Sarek stated flatly. He did not like having to answer these questions, but he felt he owed them honesty.

"So, a: it is your belief that I am a typical Human male and b: you didn't even think it was a possibility that Spock was telling you the truth that we are t'hy'la, in which case it would be physically abhorrent to cheat on one another?" Jim questioned once more.

Sarek looked somewhat confused by that question. "You are a Human male, and I did not think that it was possible for there to be inter-species t'hy'la," he stated plainly.

"It seems you were incorrect in both assumptions. Like your son, I am half-human. My father was Human. My mother is Veenan. Now I do know there is one piece of information in the databases on Veenan's and that's that we need to form an empathic bond with someone to be in a romantic relationship with them."

As Jim spoke he realized how much help the work he had been doing with Spock on his emotional control had been for him. He kept his voice even when he continued, "on a very rare occasion, a couple will form an amana bond. It's pretty much the same thing as the t'hy'la bond, a very deep connection; soul mates and all that. Oh, and one last thing, nothing with me is as it appears. For example, I am not a mere male, I am s'treu."

Jim watched as Sarek's eyes unfocused momentarily while he went through his extensive diplomatic database. Jim knew that there was not a lot about Veenan's in that database, about as much as there was about Vulcan's. There was only one reference to s'treu in their database and that was among simians. Since the Veenan's were evolved from those simians it only made sense that they would have three genders as well.

Sarek's eyes refocused on Jim. Both his eyebrows shot up to his hairline as he whispered, "you are a humanoid of the third gender." Then he said almost so quietly that only Vulcan's could hear it, "it was only rumored that the third gender had evolved through into the Veenan humanoids."

"Got it in one!" Jim said and smiled. "The closest thing in Vuhlkansu to describe me is dah-guviki, which is not quite accurate, but as close as any definition."

"James, I was incorrect in many of my assumptions about you." Sarek then looked at his son. "Spock, I have also been incorrect in my assumptions about what would be best for you. And most grievous was the error I made that you could not have the bond that you do." Sarek cast his eyes at the floor. "Ni'droi'ik nar-tor onii," when he finished speaking he knelt and bowed his head.

Amanda gasped behind them. Jim could feel Spock's absolute astonishment that his father asked for their forgiveness in that manner. Not only were they in a semi-public place, where there were other Vulcans of a lower station present, but by kneeling and bowing his head Sarek had, in essence, offered them his life.

Jim was surprised: he knew, exactly what to do and say. He had no idea how he knew this information, only that it was there, in the forefront of his mind as soon as Sarek knelt.

Jim reached forward and offered both his hands, palm up, to Sarek and projected sincerity while he said, "she-tor, thrap-fam'es nafauiii."

When Jim performed the correct response, looks of surprise could be seen on the faces of the so called emotionless Vulcans present, including T'Pring. There was only one person in the room unsurprised by the knowledge and grace inherent in Jim's actions and that was T'Pau. The brief look she had of his mind showed her some things both bright and dark that would come in his future. One of the dark things she had seen was a great calamity coming; a converging of events that were somehow tied to both Jim and Spock.

Sarek stood and raised the ta'al in salute to Jim and Spock and said "dif-tor huh smusmaiv."

Jim and Spock raised the ta'al in return and spoke in unison "sochya eh difv." Then they turned and looked at each other, surprised that they both spoke at the same time.

"Ambassador Sarek, Lady Amanda, I look forward to getting to know you both more. But for now we are going to take our leave." Jim nodded to them both.

Then they turned to T'Pau, ta'al raised. Jim spoke first, "dif-tor huh smusma T'sai T'Pau."

Spock followed with, "ko'mekh-il, dif-tor huh smusma."

T'Pau surprised them both by replying in Standard, "peace and long life my sons."

They then walked over to Winona.

Jim felt like she was looking at him like he had grown a second head. As Jim gave her a big hug, he could feel her pride. He whispered in her ear, "love you mom. You'll make arrangements for us with Uncle Josh?"

They kissed each other and she replied musically, "oh, so you do remember him! Yes, I'll make arrangements for you to get to Veenu, sweetheart. And, you know I love you too."

Jim stepped back next to Spock who raised the ta'al but before he could speak Winona darted in and kissed him on the cheek. Spock's ears immediately turned green as a slower green worked its way up his neck onto his face.

Jim thought that was absolutely adorable, which started mental banter between the two as they were walking back to their apartment...

"_James, I am _not_ adorable!"_

"_Oh contraire mon amour." _

Jim looked at Spock sideways and found him glancing in his direction at the same time; his skin was still flushed green. _"You are still blushing babe and I think it's fucking hot!" _

Lust began to pass across their bond. First from Jim, but quickly reciprocated from Spock who raised the eyebrow on Jim's side and got Spock's version of a wicked glint in his eye. That caused a shiver to run up Jim's back. Then Spock sent him a picture of being pinned against the bedroom wall while being kissed, licked and bitten.

They both started to walk faster. It was not a long walk from the embassy to their apartment building. Under normal circumstances they would walk the distance in ten minutes. They decided to make it in eight.

OoO

The next morning there were three messages waiting for them.

The first message was from Sarek stating that he would have to meet with them when he returned. He had been called to Andoria on urgent Federation business and had to leave immediately. Amanda would be staying behind because it would not be safe for her to come. He did not know how long he would be away.

The second message was from Amanda. She basically reiterated the information about Sarek having to leave suddenly. However, she did note that she was anxious about it. She made sure to invite them over to visit her anytime.

The final message was from Winona informing them of their itinerary for the trip to Veenu. They would take a long range shuttle with Winona to Starbase 3 where they were to meet up with Captain Surry on his ship the _Hoshi Sato_.

OoO

Their trip to Veenu was uneventful and their shuttle landed in the largest city on Estara, a continent close to the size of Earth's Australia. The city, named P'tar was ancient. Unlike on Earth, where modern cities were built on top of the ancient, the ancient had been maintained and upgraded as needed. So the old, walled part of the city, which looked ancient from a distance, was not as it appeared. It was an odd mixture of ancient and modern; ancient dwellings reinforced and filled with modern amenities.

Two hundred thirty eight kilometers from P'tar was their destination, the coastal village of D'Matri. D'Matri was located in a valley where the river Shtalin met the ocean. Through experience, the Veenan's had learned that life at the confluence of a large river and the ocean could cause severe flooding so the village itself was actually located on the side of the mountain, above the level of the highest historical flood.

They had laid tracks from the ocean to the village that were used to save boats and ships when there was enough warning of something coming; be it a coastal storm, a tsunami or a seasonal flood of the river. Large ships could ride out just about anything in the ocean, unless the storm was too large.

For the most part the residents of D'Matri lived there to work either with the fishing industry or at the associated research center. However, there were two other attractions in D'Matri: the most powerful Shanquat on the planet, T'remel and the Caves of the Ha'Tshi located up on the mountain.

When any particularly powerful s'treu was having trouble controlling their abilities they were sent to T'remel. Jim had been an extra special case because of the trauma he had experienced on Tarsus IV. After his body had been rescued, it had been T'remel who had rescued his mind. T'remel had been the first to foresee things in Jim's future and helped mold his character; to prepare him for what needed to be done.

In order for Jim and Spock to enter the caves of the Ha'Tshi they would need a Shanquat to open the way. For the safety of everyone the caves of the Ha'Tshi were guarded by powerful telekinetic shields that could only be put in place or taken down by a Shanquat.

Jim hadn't been nervous throughout the drive, mostly because Spock had kept asking him questions at strategic times during their trip. However, since they began driving down the final road into D'Matri Jim's tension began to climb exponentially.

Spock felt Jim's tension rising and tried to send him soothing thoughts to no avail. Jim had become so upset he wasn't receiving him.

Spock then tried some physical stimuli: Jim was gripping the controls so hard that Spock thought they might break, so he touched Jim's hand. He got no reaction.

Spock then decided to do something that he hardly ever did in his life, he raised his voice to an almost shout, "kroykah!"

It was a good thing there was no other traffic because Jim would have caused a major accident when he stopped the vehicle so suddenly he almost caused himself and Spock whiplash.

Jim screamed at Spock as he moved the air car to the side of the road then lowered it the last foot to the ground, "what the _fuck _was that about?" His right hand which was gripping the control arm was so tense his fingers had become white.

Spock raised his eyebrow closest to Jim, reached over and put his hand over Jim's. As he suspected Jim's fingers felt quite cold. "James, release the control," he said.

As Jim began to relax his hand he realized just how tense he was. He allowed Spock to take his hand and the block that he didn't realize he had put up around their bond dissolved. Spock was finally able to sooth his fear until he relaxed.

Jim took back his hand and shook it to get the blood to return to it then said, "thanks babe, I'll be okay now."

He bit his lower lip against the pins and needles in his right hand for a couple of seconds before grabbing the control stick with his left hand. Raising the car, he waited for a refrigerated truck to pass then eased back onto the road to complete the voyage into D'Matri.

T'remel had known since he left that Jim would be returning to visit the Ha'Tshi to complete his unfinished business. When Jim's 'seeing' had been performed he refused to allow T'remel or the Ha'Tshi to share the results. However, he knew that at some point it would become critical that Jim become aware of what had been foreseen. He was aware that the Ha'Tshi implanted nightmares in the minds of the unwilling to coerce them to return to them at the appropriate time _if_ what was foreseen was important enough. The potential events foreseen in Jim's future were definitely important enough.

T'remel sat on the piece of sacred Gatok wood in the center of his lodge and sank into a meditative trance. He then turned his energy toward Jim Kirk knowing he should be there soon. He wanted to try and determine his emotional state prior to their meeting.

T'remel allowed his essence to spread into the surrounding ether. There were many emotional signals in the immediate area, but he was very familiar with the energy of Jim Kirk. His energy burned as bright as a super nova. _'There,' _T'remel thought as he found Jim's energy; much closer than T'remel had thought he would be. Jim was very tense, but suddenly calm took hold and he relaxed. _'Very interesting, that must be from his Vulcan mate.' _T'remel concluded.

The Shanquat's Lodge was located at the base of the trail that led up the mountain to the Caves of the Ha'Tshi. There were actually two buildings at that location: the Lodge itself and a cabin. There was a short tunnel that attached the two. The cabin was the living space for the Shanquat and his acolyte where the Lodge was the work space. There was a small area in the cabin where all seeking the Shanquat could wait if needed without entering the living area.

The Lodge itself was a geodesic dome. In ancient times they had been constructed of wood and hide and heated with hot rocks brought in from the cabin by the acolyte. The modern version was made of metal and heated using the geothermal heat available.

In the 2.35 kilometers between the town and the Lodge was a large meadow that had been broken into fenced pastures where Veenan versions of goats and sheep grazed in the afternoon sun.

The meadow ran up to the front of the cabin. There were no signs or anything that would have marked this cabin as any different than that of anyone else, with one exception: to the left was a massive tree. It was obviously ancient and extremely unusual.

Jim couldn't help but notice Spock staring at the tree as they approached. Spock was concentrating so hard on attempting to determine what it was he jumped when Jim spoke. "It's a Progenitor Gatok. There's one on each continent. The senior Shanquat on that continent will take residence in the Lodge next to the Progenitor Gatok and make sure it is protected. Now I know that the thing is pretty odd looking, just a huge pile of branches with no leaves and really thick bark. And where do those long branches go anyway?" Jim glanced over at Spock with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

"They snake their way up and around the mountain and put down roots in patches where a grove then springs up. See all those trees up on the mountain?" Jim looked at Spock, who nodded. "Seventy five percent of them are Gatok trees grown from those branches. Each branch could support hundreds of trees as it snakes its way up the mountain. Now, each of those individual trees flowers and seeds and the seeds are floaters so the trees also spread that way. However, none of the regular Gatok trees are like the Progenitors.

"There is a legend surrounding the piece of Gatok wood at the center of every Shanquat's Lodge on the planet. Countless thousands of years ago, when we were just pulling ourselves together into civilization we were on the verge of killing ourselves off with our telekinetic powers. Veenan's were telekinetic at that point, but not yet empaths.

"According to the legend there were still Gods who roamed the world. The Council of Twenty One sat in a hut and prayed for help. The council consisted of seven from each gender, s'treu, men and women. In answer to their prayers a shimmering figure appeared in the center of the circle: a beautiful female in gossamer robes. She identified herself as the goddess Gatok. She offered to assist them in solving their problems but that it would be costly. The council agreed they would pay any price to find a way to keep from destroying themselves. At that point there was a flash and all the males disappeared.

"Several days later each of the males reappeared each looking years older, their eyes were colorless as well. It was explained to the council that these males were now Shanquats; they were Gatok's chosen. They would always be eunuchs and would always have special powers. The Shanquat's would teach the masses how to use their telekinesis and they would also teach them how to deal with a new power that Gatok would gift them with as they slept that night: empathy. She then took one Shanquat to each continent.

"After working with them to get them and their work established, they were finally able to settle in certain spots and build their Lodges, then Gatok gave them their final gifts. She divided herself into seven and each part became a Progenitor Gatok. But before the part became completely a tree she gave each of those Shanquat's an arm. That arm became a large branch. Gatok's last verbal instruction was to use the wood as a center in their Lodges. There is still a piece of that wood in the heart of each Lodge on the planet." Jim finished his tale just as they pulled up in front of the cabin.

Right before he knocked Jim turned to Spock. "One more thing," he said. "T'remel is really old, he's over 250. The average Veenan lives around 130 years. One of the things that Gatok granted Shanquat's was extra-long life, and they do live a long time. The average Shanquat lives around 300 years."

J'ndal, T'remel's acolyte, met them at the door and led them to the entrance of the lodge where he bid them farewell. Jim opened the intricately carved wooden door and gestured for Spock to precede him into the Lodge.

T'remel rose from his meditation when he felt Jim's energy enter the cabin so that he could meet them at the door. Jim and Spock offered obeisance, bowing at the waist and pressing the heels of their palms to their foreheads, spreading their hands to the sides as they stood.

"Greetings T'remel, thank you for seeing us today. This is Spock, my mate." Jim said.

Spock raised his hand in the ta'al and said "live long and prosper Shanquat T'remel." Spock got his first look at the eunuch. He indeed showed signs of advanced age with wrinkles and folds of loose skin on his face and neck. His full head of long, white hair hung in a tail to his waist. The robes that he wore were Trinatorna silk and hung to the floor. None of those features were of any note in comparison to his eyes; the irises of T'remel's eyes were unsettling, being the same white as the sclera. Jim had told him that it would be disconcerting to look at his eyes and only see pupil. Now that he was looking in his eyes, he found that Jim had been correct in his assessment.

T'remel smiled and said, "thank you, I have both lived a long and prosperous life. And once I shed this mortal coil I will join my brothers in the Ha'Tshi."

He gestured to the stools next to where they were standing, and told them, "please sit and I will wash your feet."

Jim had explained to Spock that this was a gesture of humility on behalf of the Shanquat, that he was the servant of the people. However, Spock was still uncomfortable with having a person he was unfamiliar with him touching his feet. He hated to admit it but Spock's feet were ticklish.

Although Spock had erected his strongest shields prior to entering, knowing that T'remel was a very strong empath, he was unable to hide his emotions from the Shanquat. He was unaware that the only Vulcan who could possibly hide their emotions from a Shanquat would be one who had mastered Kolinahr at Gol.

T'remel fixed Spock with his colorless gaze and said, "do not fear Spock, you will not feel me through my touch and I will not feel you."

Spock's eyebrows crawled up into his hairline in surprise and Jim snorted out a laugh before he said, "can't get anything by him ashaya."

Spock's eyebrows returned to their normal position as he replied, "indeed."

There were six stools set next to each other by the doors. Three had porcelain bowls of steaming water that had been prepared in advance by J'ndal, sitting on the floor next to them. Jim and Spock sat on a stool each and removed their boots and socks.

T'remel knelt in front of Spock first. He pulled over one of the bowls and the towel/wash cloth combination then gently washed Spock's feet, patting them dry with a thick towel. He then repeated the process with Jim. When he finished he rose and took the next unoccupied seat. In completion of the ritual, Jim knelt in front of T'remel and washed his feet.

Inside the Lodge was deeply carpeted with a variety of throw rugs and all who entered had to do so barefoot.

"Bring your footwear, we will exit the Lodge from the back," T'remel told them.

The first thing that Spock had noticed when he entered the Lodge was the familiar odor of incense: sandalwood, pine and something alien to his nose. To his left he found rows of wooden shelving containing all manner of items, from folders of papers to jars of powders. To his right he found a simple laboratory set up, a desk and a partitioned area which Jim informed him was the lavatory.

The entire reason for the Lodge, however, was the center area. At the very center sat an enormous slab of gleaming golden wood with rich browns and burnished reds running throughout the grain: the Gatok wood. It was a single piece of wood; as if it was a slice of a giant tree trunk. Spock's eyes measured it at 2.642 meters in diameter and 15.24 centimeters thick. The most surprising thing about it was that despite its size, it was flawless, not one crack or divot marred its surface. In a circle 1.524 meters from the Gatok wood were pillows and cushions for people to use as seats.

"_James I am glad you informed me of the legend of Gatok. The size of this piece of wood and the tree outside together are... fascinating!"_ Spock told Jim through the bond.

Jim was floored by the excitement Spock was exhibiting about the Gatok and could not resist teasing him as he replied, _"a bit emotional there ashaya!"_ His mental voice full of laughter and his face smiling.

Spock smiled inwardly as he replied, _"indeed."_ Spock did not realize it at the time, but he was not ashamed at being called emotional for once.

T'remel had observed them talking to each other telepathically and that made him wonder if that was part of their bond. As far as he knew, Jim was not a telepath. So he asked, "you were just speaking to each other telepathically, were you not?"

Jim and Spock looked at each other than at T'remel and nodded.

He continued, "I thought as much. James, I know you were never a telepath. If you would not mind obliging an old man, I would like to examine your bond and see if I can determine how it happened that you can speak to each other that way."

Spock really didn't want that. It had been unpleasant enough to both of them when T'Pau had poked at the bond. He had to explain how the bond worked so maybe T'remel would decide that he would leave them alone.

"Honored T'remel, please allow me to explain. When a Vulcan bonds to someone who is not psi-null they are normally able to speak to that person telepathically. The only times that they have not been able to is if the Vulcan(s) in question is a very weak telepath in the first place," Spock explained. "My family does consist of very strong telepaths."

"Thank you for the explanation Spock. However, I would like to see the mechanics if I may. You fear that I will touch your bond. I will not. I will only look. I am a very minimal telepath so I would be unable to touch, only establish contact with your minds and then only with the help of the Gatok wood." T'remel replied, cocking his head slightly and smiling.

Jim put a hand on Spock's arm and spoke up, "Spock, T'remel won't hurt us. Come on, let's do it." He then stepped forward toward the Gatok wood and let his hand trail down Spock's arm so that their fingers met. As they did Jim smiled at him. A smile so full of love that Spock would have followed him to the edge of the Universe and beyond. It was all he needed to take those several steps forward onto the Gatok wood.

As soon as he set foot on the wood Spock could feel tingles of power through his feet. When T'remel joined them the tingle intensified ten-fold. T'remel then ensured that Jim and Spock were standing so that their shoulders touched. He placed his right hand, first three fingers extended, on Jim's left temple and his left on Spock's right temple. Then he looked into each of their eyes in turn. When he did their pupils dilated and his became pinpoints.

Spock relaxed when he felt T'remel reaching only for the connection between himself and Jim. Then Jim spoke to him through the bond, _"T'remel asked me if I would talk to you so he could see if anything inside my head did anything differently while I spoke to you." _He paused as if listening before he continued, _"seems he found it; whatever he was looking for, Ha!" _

T'remel dropped his hands. He had a big smile on his face as he spoke, "thank you for allowing me to observe. It is especially nice to learn new things when you are my age. I have never before had the honor of observing an Amana bond, nor have I ever seen a Vulcan bond. Yours is extremely entwined. You truly hold pieces of one another's souls. I have no doubt that in the years to come that will have both advantages and disadvantages."

T'remel walked off of the Gatok wood and motioned for them to follow. He guided them around the partition where there was indeed a rest room, several stools and a door.

Motioning to the stools T'remel said, "now would be the time to don your footwear." Turning his attention strictly to Spock he inquired, "how was your experience when I checked the bond?"

Spock sat, reviewing scientifically any sensations he experienced before he replied, "the only unusual sensation I experienced was a tingle that came up through the bottoms of my feet."

T'remel smiled in a way that Jim would later describe as being sly before he spoke, "ah, the power of Gatok! You will experience much more of that later."

Spock noticed that, although he and Jim were putting on their footwear, T'remel remained barefoot. He asked Jim through their bond, _"James does T'remel not wear shoes?"_

"_No. He will go barefoot no matter what the weather. I think all Shanquat's go barefoot, but I've never asked. And don't you dare say it's fascinating!"_

Spock raised an eyebrow before replying, _"what is wrong with fascinating?"_

Jim rolled his eyes and huffed, _"you just use it _way_ too much. Can't you think of any other adjectives?" _

Spock feigned insult and raised his eyebrow even further, _"there are times when fascinating is simply the best descriptive word to use capture the essence of the moment."_

Jim shook his head and sent affection to his love along with his agreement with his statement as they finished putting on their boots.

T'remel watched them speaking mind to mind while they put on their boots with amusement.

When they got outside Jim looked up at the mountain and didn't like what he saw. Everywhere around them the weather was clear, but the mountain was covered in low clouds. To him, it almost looked angry.

Spock, however, had a different impression when he looked at the mountain: his impression was one of the seafaring giants in the Thomas Covenant books his mother made him read.

At the bottom the trail was wide and grassy but as soon as it got steep it became a narrow dirt tract between large rocks. They had traveled 269 meters when they came to a 243.84 meter rock wall with a perfect stairwell carved into it. It was as if Gatok herself had carved them because it would have taken people hundreds of years with heavy equipment to dig so deeply and perfectly into the granite. It had perfect even treads and a hand rail on each side, just like any staircase, except everything was made of granite.

There were exactly one thousand steps. At the top was a 12.7 square meter plateau before the mountain continued. This plateau also appeared to have been cut out by machines in an age when Veenan's did not possess such items.

In front of them there was a crack in the wall. At the bottom it was wide enough for several people to walk in next to each other, however it quickly narrowed into a fissure that ran out of sight into the clouds above them.

Jim automatically stopped so Spock did as well. They watched as T'remel concentrated for several seconds before he raised his hands high and brought them down quickly.

T'remel then turned to them and said, "I can accompany you no further this time James. You and Spock must make your way from here. Whatever awaits is for your ears only." He smiled. "I am sure you remember the path."

Jim laughed nervously. "Kind of hard to forget after you've been here a couple of times. See you on the return."

Spock raised the ta'al and nodded. "Shanquat T'remel, our thanks for bringing us this far."

T'remel shot Spock a bigger smile than Jim had ever seen on his face before. "Why Spock, are thanks not illogical?"

Surprising both Jim and T'remel, Spock replied. "As I have been reminded throughout my life Shanquat, I _am_ half-Human." Then he actually shocked T'remel more by allowing the corners of his lips to turn up, very slightly.

Through their bond he felt Jim relax, which had been his idea when he decided to use humor. They began their walk down the steep path in silence. However, it was not far before Spock noticed some glyphs on the wall and stopped to examine them.

"James," he said, his voice unnaturally loud in the cavern, "can you read these, I feel they are important."

Jim knew exactly what those glyphs said, it was them and their translation that was only one of the reasons he hated this place. "Yeah, they promise madness and a painful death to any who enter unprepared." He shivered before he continued, "if you want to, look at them closely and see if you can determine the media used to write them with."

Spock looked and as he did he felt a drop in the surrounding temperature. He looked over to Jim who had a grim expression on his face, before he said feeling absolutely certain, "it is blood."

Jim just nodded before he turned and continued to make his way down through the cave. Jim had relaxed a bit before Spock found the glyphs, but his tension from earlier in the day had returned and the mood of the descent was subdued.

They went down for twenty minutes when they came to a cavernous room which swallowed the illumination provided by the lights on their helmets. Spock froze. "Fascinating... There are Vulcan katras here, Jim." His voice was reverent and questioning at the same time.

_Spock..._

They both heard it clearly and looked at each other for confirmation.

_James…._

_They have come... (echoes) have come... come..._

_The ancient ones... Ancient katras... katras…. Ancient souls... Souls..._

_S'chn T'Gai Spock... James Tiberius Kirk..._

Although the voices seemed to be in their heads, they also seemed to echo in the chamber around them. Jim, had on every occasion he had been to visit the Ha'Tshi, found it difficult to figure out if the voices were internal, external or both. T'remel had only laughed and said that it was in 'individual perception' when he had inquired about the phenomenon.

_We call to you... call to you... to you..._

_Through space and time... and time... time..._

_To this moment... _The 'moment' echoed louder and louder then faded.

Their head lamps seemed to dim even further as some colored lights swirled in front of them. Jim wanted to run but his feet felt like they were rooted on the spot. Spock, on the other hand, merely felt... curious.

Slowly the colors took form. There were two of them: one was clearly Vulcan, dressed in the way of an ancient desert warrior; the other appeared to be an ancient Veenan Shanquat.

Spock took a step forward to take a better look at the Vulcan who smiled back at him. He put up his right hand and made a gesture similar to the modern Ta'al.

"Greetings brothers." The Vulcan began. His voice sounded as if there were several people actually speaking at the same time, all in perfect harmony to one another. "I am Versat, my companion is G'ndry."

Jim finally let out a bit of his anger and it allowed him to move. He stepped forward and got right in their faces. "Why did you call me/us? What the fuck do you want with us?"

Versat turned to G'ndry, amusement written all over both of their faces and spoke like neither Jim nor Spock were in the room with them.

"Impetuous." Versat said to G'ndry.

"Ya, I'd say it twas along da lines of what dey'll be needin' soon." G'ndry's heavily country accented voice was harsh and dissonant in comparison to the sweet harmony of Versat's.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Jim said exasperated and more than a bit pissed off to be standing here in front of a couple of ghosts acting like a couple of bad stand-up comedians. He put his hands on his hips and let them have it. "No more fucking games. Tell us why you wanted us here."

Versat laughed. "Impetuous indeed," he said to the world in general before turning to Jim. "Alright, the truth."

Versat's eyes had changed from a warm brown to deep black. Jim felt like they were boring into his soul. He was dead serious as he said, "you must save the galaxy."

Jim sputtered and coughed at that pronouncement. "Okay, right, nothing too hard," he choked out.

He then turned to Spock who looked a bit shocked himself. "You got that Spock. You and me, we have to save the galaxy!" With that he dissolved into laughter and fell to his knees. Jim pounded his fists on the ground he yelled, "That wasn't like a 'seeing' where things are vague, that's pretty fucking specific, saving the galaxy. You sons of bitches, you know I never wanted to know the fucking future!"

G'ndry's ghostly form knelt down next to him. "James," he said. He may have been dead, but he had been a very powerful Shanquat in his day and there, in the Ha'Tshi, his power was undiminished. His voice was gentle but the power it held radiated throughout the chamber. "I be knowin' dat ye nev'r wanted to be knowin' da future. Bu' now ye 'ave ta. Notin' 'ill e'er be da same ifin ye don'."

A ghostly finger reached down to lift Jim's chin and he jumped back into Spock when he felt the chill of it pass over his skin. Spock helped Jim back to his feet and pulled him slightly behind him, in a protective posture. He was also curious as to why this job fell to them.

"Honored Versat," Spock began. Versat turned his eyes to Spock, noting how he had pulled his bond mate behind him for protection. "We do not understand. Why does this job of 'saving the galaxy' fall to us? Why now?"

Versat smiled as he explained as if speaking to small children. "Now, simply because the time is now." He chuckled to himself. "Not today, obviously." He sobered. "But within your lifetimes there are serious threats to the stability of the galaxy that are emerging that only you two are going to be able to fight back.

"You because it is you, has been you, will always be you." Versat finished.

"What in the name of all Gods everywhere does that mean?" asked Jim incredulously.

Versat turned his smile on Jim and said, "James, fate is a peculiar game. You must either play along with it, or it will play you." He paused to make sure Jim was paying attention because it was critical that Jim understand what he was telling him. "Fate merely puts you into certain situations and places, but _**you**_ _**are**_ the one who decides what to do when you are put there."

"Alright, that answered one question, but not the one I asked," Jim mumbled shaking his head. Then loudly enough for everyone's ears he said, "I asked you why us? What do you mean that it was always us, will always be us?"

Versat looked at Jim coolly for a moment before responding, "James, wherever, whenever you are you always find the worst danger to fight or you are not challenged enough."

"_That certainly seems like you!" _Spock chided him through the bond.

"_Shut it you! No comments from the peanut gallery!" _Jim replied.

Spock could _not_ let that opportunity go. _"Peanut Gallery?",_ Spock asked sending Jim a picture in his mind of an art gallery full of paintings and sculptures of peanuts.

Jim snorted so hard he almost choked, but recovered quickly causing him to receive concerned looks from both G'ndry and Versat.

G'ndry took over the explanation. "Wha' I can tell ya is dat dare be an evil darkness comin' ta us. Ye touched dat evil a'ready."

Jim inhaled sharply, "The xi!"

G'ndry's shade moved so that it was all but touching Jim before he continued. "Dat is one evil out dare, but it twasn't da one I was speakin' of."

Once again the conversation switched to the other ghost. "James, the other evil we speak of is one that has already greatly impacted your life." Versat said as he turned to Spock.

Shaking his ghostly head he said to Spock, so softly Jim could barely hear, "that same evil will be coming for you next."

Jim was aghast at what he had just heard. As soon as Versat said that it was something that had already greatly impacted his life he could only think of two events in his life that it could have been and he had already dealt with Kodos so it had to be the Kelvin and his father. He felt cold all over as his legs give way with the weight of revelation: whatever destroyed the Kelvin was coming back for Spock. And, the big question was _**why**_? Jim felt three pairs of eyes staring at him, but he didn't care, he needed to think.

He reviewed the information from the Kelvin in his mind:

_1. Lightning storm in space_

_2. Huge Romulan ship, never seen before_

_3. Extremely powerful, never seen before weaponry_

'_Could that ship have come from the future?' _he asked himself.

He looked up at Spock and asked, "Spock, is it possible that a space/time anomaly could cause a lightning storm in space?"

Spock considered the question for a couple of seconds before he replied, "I believe that it is a possibility. What are you thinking?"

Jim stood up and dusted his jeans off before he looked Spock in the eye and replied, "I think there may be a Romulan ship from the future out there Spock. It attacked the Kelvin and killed my father. And, for some reason, that same ship is after you. But, I feel it's something bigger than that. It's not just you they're after, but all your people. Maybe everyone in the Federation."

As he spoke Jim could feel the sick certainty of precognition settle into his bones. Whatever else he was, he was not someone who would turn his back on people he could help. It seemed that somewhere down the road some crazy Romulan was coming after his mate and his mate's people. He would not allow that. He finally accepted that this was, indeed his "fate" or as he would later come to see it as "his job in life" and that he and Spock were the only people who _could_ do what needed to be done; whatever the hell that would be.

Jim nodded to Spock and allowed him to feel his new determination as he smiled before he turned his attention to the apparitions before him. "Okay, I won't fight fate anymore. I'll go with it... _But_ I will do things _my _way when events play out!" he said emphatically, complete with wild gesticulations.

The ghosts turned to each other and smiled. Versat spoke, "excellent James, you always will do things your own way! Did it ever occur to you that there may have been a reason for those you killed on Tarsus IV?"

Jim shot him one of his nastiest looks.

"You store too much guilt about that incident. So, let me give you something to consider: there were certain individuals there who had enjoyed the killing and torture there. 'Fate' placed those individuals between you and your eventual target of Kodos. Yet, you only caused violence to those performing violence on you at the moment and the one directing everything. The others died instantly because their brain stems shut down their bodily functions. Please consider this: If those men had been alive when Starfleet arrived many of their personnel, possibly including your mother, would have died," Versat concluded.

Jim sighed and nodded before speaking, "I'll keep that in mind before I go down the self-deprecating path next time." He snorted and then continued, "but will we be enough? Just the two of us, I mean? Do you know of any tricks that can help us?" He looked at both ghosts imploringly.

Versat thought for a moment before he turned his dead gaze upon Spock. "Spock, it is possible that this may help you. There is an ancient warrior custom which allowed the bond mates to share the combined strength of the warriors within the clan: Ne ki'ne that of the shield partner. First it requires the deep bond which you already carry. However, since there are no longer any warriors on Vulcan, for the second requirement you will need to form a bond with me, my entire clan is here with me. However, since James is not Vulcan I do not know if he is strong enough to hold so many of us in his mind."

Jim's eyes got really big when he heard that pronouncement. "You have got to be kidding!" He started to laugh; a laugh that bordered on hysterical. "Bond… with… a…. clan... of... fucking…. dead…. men." He barely got the words out as gasps.

Spock turned to Jim and took his face tenderly in his hands. "Ashayam." Jim lifted his eyes to meet his mate's. "This _is _an ancient Vulcan warrior custom and Versat is correct that there are no other warriors available for us to bond with to borrow their strength in times of need. I know your mind is strong enough. I will assist you in incorporating the others into 'us'." Spock was stroking Jim's hair while he was speaking sending calming feelings to him.

Jim nodded. "I know Spock. It's just pretty bizarre. All of this. _We_ have to save the galaxy! And to do that we have to bond with a dead warrior clan." He gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "This is really fucking insane! You know that? Puny little you and me, we have to save the entire fucking galaxy from some unknown 'evil darkness'. Not just one either! Abso-fucking-lutely insane." He was gesticulating wildly while he was speaking and he did make sure to include the hand quotes.

Jim shivered, then straightened his spine. Spock felt/watched as Jim's eyes hardened; he had made his decision. Jim looked at Spock first before he turned and looked at Versat, "Alright, let's do this thing."

Jim was used to melding with Spock, they did so regularly, however, he was totally unprepared for what Versat's ghost did next: he/it passed into both of them.

They both felt their minds fill with the thoughts of hundreds of Vulcan warriors. Spock caught Jim before he was overwhelmed by all the thoughts coming at them and filtered them in a way that he was able to handle.

Jim was unaware of how long it took for Versat to integrate the minds of his clan into his. He was aware of Spock holding onto him the entire time, both physically and psychically before everything became too much for him and he blacked out.

A/N1: Please review.

A/N2: I did not add a description of the Veenan ship and their trip because of the length of the chapter. I could add it to the next one for their return trip if I get enough requests. However it is not an important point for the story. Let me know if you want to read it either through reviews or PM. Thanks!

i Vuhlkansu (Vulcan language) - dah-guvik – hermaphrodite/bisexual

ii Vuhlkansu (Vulcan language) - I ask both your forgiveness

iii Vuhlkansu (Vulcan language) - rise, no offense taken

iv Vuhlkansu (Vulcan language) - live long and prosper

v Vuhlkansu (Vulcan language) – Peace and long life


	24. Chapter 24 A Visit with Gatok

Standard disclaimer: I don't own ST or make any $ from this.

Sorry for taking so long, it was a difficult chapter to write. This is the 3rd chapter in what is looking like a 5 chapter mini-arc. (It would have been 4 but this chapter was going to be way too long.) Thanks for sticking with me and my story!

Special thanks to Trekkergurl, my Beta.

Chapter 23 – A Visit with Gatok

OoO

When Jim returned to awareness the first thing he felt were Spock's arms surrounding him in silence and almost complete darkness. They were sitting on the cold ground and his butt was cold. He groaned then rubbed his face as full awareness returned.

"_Oh fuck, sorry I couldn't handle that love. How long was I out?"_ Jim asked through the bond. He had a mild headache, but not as bad as he thought he would.

"_19.87 minutes K'diwa. I have completed the integration of the clan's minds into mine. Currently, I have isolated them so that we can function. It was almost too much for me as well Ashayam. According to Versat, once we are away from here their echoes will diminish." _Spock replied.

"_We will work together to help you so we can use their strength and memories, when the time calls for it." _As he finished Spock stood, helping Jim get up at the same time.

To Jim's disbelief Spock's face transformed as he broke into a big, open mouthed smile; he then began to laugh! Not simply a chuckle or a little laugh, but a deep belly laugh that was almost hysterical in nature. He almost couldn't help it; his control had been shredded by integrating those emotional pre-reform Vulcan's thoughts into his mind. He was sure that in any other circumstances he would be raging rather than laughing.

Jim grabbed him by his arms immediately and shook his shoulders. He couldn't help thinking that something had gone very wrong with his beloved.

"Spock, Spock," Jim was freaked out. Spock simply **did not** laugh out loud! Without thinking he commanded him, "snap out of it, _Spock_!" It worked.

Spock sobered immediately and looked Jim in the eyes before attempting to reassure him, "my emotionalism is due to processing the katras of all those pre-reform Vulcans. At the moment my controls are tenuous at best."

Jim nodded, "understood."

So involved were they in each other that neither had noticed that they no longer needed their lights to see. The illumination level in the cavern had steadily grown stronger as something approached. If they had been paying attention they would have noticed how this illumination filled the cavern but was subdued, not bright. The source of the light had been walking steadily toward them from the depths of the cavern while they had been busy.

Spock finally noticed the bright figure coming toward them, trailing ghosts; thousands of ghosts and pointed over Jim's shoulder.

When Jim turned, what he saw made his mouth fall open in awe. He had seen her painted images in the Lodge, but they didn't do justice to her ethereal beauty. The flock of ghosts was being led by a woman that was the epitome of feminine physical beauty. Her long, golden hair flowed around her face, framing it perfectly, then cascading over her shoulders and down her back. Waves in just the right places accented the planes of her face; everything about her face was perfect. It was her eyes that grabbed their attention however, they were a most intriguing color of green mixed with blue with flecks of golden brown throughout.

Jim grabbed a handful of Spock's tunic over his chest, as if to get his attention or in fear; Jim, himself wasn't sure which emotion drove him. He swallowed hard before he barely breathed out the words, "well fuck us both Spock, it's Her; It's the Goddess Gatok."

As if his voicing Her Name was enough call her across the last thirty meters, she was instantly standing in front of them.

"Yes it is I, James Tiberius Kirk, Ain to David Marcus and future A'rin to four children sired by S'chn T'Gai Spock." She laughed and her laughter was like crystal bells, "I, however, am not quite what I appear to be."

Gatok solidified completely, but continued to glow.

"Umm, well, I don't mean to be impertinent but if you are not what you appear, then what are you?" Jim asked.

Spock raised an eyebrow at Jim and said through the bond, _"I certainly think that was impertinent; having said that, it is an excellent question."_

"Ah James, there are some of my people who would believe you to be impertinent in the extreme and would have crushed you like a fly. I would encourage you however, because I believe you are only impertinent when it is needed," she smiled at them both as she spoke, "and, in this case it is needed."

With a flourish she waved her hands and dust and rocks began to move around. Jim and Spock stepped back, out of the way of the debris, which had started to swirl in a circle and move together. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light. When they could see again they saw that she created a seating area with comfortable chairs. It was almost like a miniature living room minus the technology of modern day living. There was a comfortable looking sofa and two individual chairs surrounding a coffee table. They looked at each other and then at her. Jim's eyes were as big as they could get. Spock's eyebrows were buried under his hairline.

Gatok looked at Jim and Spock, with a smile. Gesturing to the furniture with a flourish, she said, "please, make yourselves comfortable. You've already been on your feet for a while and you have a long walk on the way out."

Jim walked over to the sofa slowly, as if it might bite him at any moment and reached out to touch it. Gatok smiled at him and said, "they are real and substantial James." Jim and Spock sat next to each other on the sofa, while Gatok sat on one of the chairs that moved, without being touched, so that it was exactly opposite them.

"As I am sure you are aware when a people are confronted with a technology significantly greater than theirs those wielding the technology are either referred to as mages or gods, depending. The usual dependent factor would be how significantly greater the technology is from what they are familiar. Even now, the technology that my people wield is far beyond most beings in the galaxy, so we wind up with the moniker of God. But we are not gods, we merely people who evolved beyond the need for the physical eons before either of your species evolved into a humanoid form.

"My people once lived on Organia. Most Organians remain on our world. However, there was a group of us who were not content to sit and merely watch various races in the Universe, so we left and formed our own society. We remain Organian however. It was where we evolved beyond the need of the physical. We have visited many of worlds you know and many you do not. Klingon was one of the more interesting worlds I visited with which you are familiar; Had to be very careful on Klingon, they like to believe they are more powerful than any God."

She paused and looked around gesturing expansively, "this physical universe is a truly wondrous place. Most of you do not realize what you have while you are here. It is much more interesting place than the non-physical."

Gatok picked up a couple of rocks roughly the size of her fist. She weighed them in her hands, then looked at Spock before asking him, "Spock, care to estimate the amount of carbon in these rocks for me, please?" She handed him the rocks.

Spock felt them, their weight, and he smelled them and his Vulcan olfactory senses took in the odor of the metals they contained. He cocked his head slightly to the side and responded, "these rocks appear to be high in inorganic materials, mostly iron, however without a tricorder I cannot be certain. I estimate the carbon content be less than ten percent."

Gatok smiled at him as he handed the rocks back to her. "As a matter of fact Spock, these rocks contain 8.38 percent carbon. And yet I can do this," she said with a sly smile. She closed her hands over one of the rocks and there was a flash and she handed Jim a large, uncut diamond.

Jim's mouth hung open as he looked at the gem.

There was another flash and she handed an uncut lerash-khush to Spock who raised an eyebrow at the sight and feel of the native Vulcan diamond.

Gatok laughed at their reactions. The cave was once again filled with the sound of crystal bells as she spoke while she laughed, "I wanted to clearly illustrate my ability to change the sub-atomic structure of any item. It was the same way I created the Progenitor trees, the Shanquat's and this place, The Well of Souls, or as the Veenan's call it, the Ha'Tshi. You must know that none of these souls, or katras as you Vulcan's call them, stays because they are trapped. They stay because they choose to stay; to help those in need, such as you. Or, to help when they see an anomaly in the future, such the those that are coming.

Gatok looked at them both deeply, studying them, as if judging them for their suitability for something. With a sigh she began her story. "I had recently been rejected by the inhabitants of a planet where I had resided for millennia and was looking for a new home. While I was in this sector of space exploring when I heard a call. These beautiful people were praying for a way to save themselves. It drew me to them. When I analyzed those who were fighting all I found was pain. Their leaders no longer wanted war, however no one knew how to stop fighting. Since they were fighting telekinetically, I looked into their minds and found that the channels for empathy were there, but most were closed. So I opened the Veenan's empathic channels and the difference was instantaneous. The war stopped because they couldn't help but feel each other's pain. As I explored the minds of those I had chosen to be my Shanquat's I found that there were many other channels in their minds; all I needed to do was open them. Just as there are certain unopened channels in both your minds." As she finished her little speech she reached out and gently caressed the side of each of their faces.

As soon as she touched him Jim felt as if he was one of a billion stars floating in the blackness of the Universe and he was beginning the ultimate collapse toward supernova: it felt like his brain kept expanding and contracting with every beat of his heart, but contracting more every time, becoming hotter and hotter. He had to escape, so he tried to jump back. He managed to dislodge her fingers for a moment and look at her with eyes wide with fear. Then he heard her voice in his mind, and it was a soothing balm, _"relax James, I am opening some channels in your mind that will assist you with what you have accepted as your life's work. It may be a bit uncomfortable but it will be worth it in the end." _That promise enabled him to relax enough so that he was able to steel himself to step back into her touch and allow her to continue. When he did he felt his mind explode into brightness, like a supernova.

At the same time she was speaking to Spock in his mind, soothing him. She was very familiar with Vulcan emotions when it came to their mates. What he didn't realize until a bit later had assisted him in the resetting of his emotional controls. _"Relax Spock, I am not hurting your t'hy'la. He will be fine; better actually, since I am enhancing certain abilities that have been latent. I will explain to you both what I have done, do not worry."_

Spock had to stop the automatic reply that Vulcan's do not worry, but Gatok heard it anyway.

Laughing crystal bells in his mind replied, _"Spock, I am surrounded by Vulcan's, I know better. And before you say anything about them being pre-reform, I am in your mind and I can feel your emotions."_

That he regained the ability to see the logic of her words, instead of getting angry because she was correct, said quite a bit about Spock's returning emotional control. He took a deep breath and attempted to stand straighter, as if that was possible.

Gatok stepped back, releasing them.

Jim held his head because it felt strange. So he asked, "what the fuck did you just do to me? My brain feels… like a fucking supernova just went off in it!" He dropped his hands and looked her in the eyes.

She smiled at Jim as she replied, "indeed, some things in your mind have been adjusted and expanded. Feeling as though you had a supernova go off in your head is as apt a description as any James. You always had been a latent telepath and precognitive."

Jim's eyes almost bugged out of his head as she used the past tense. "But, but… but…" he sputtered. She had mucked around in his head without his permission; he ground down his teeth along with the anger/frustration/fear that it had engendered so that he could get the words past his lips. Jim Kirk was not known for backing down and he got right into her face and bit out the words through barred teeth, "what the fuck do you mean by '_Had. Been. Latent?'_"

Gatok smiled, and said, "I meant exactly what I said. Those abilities are no longer latent." She was glad that he got into her face. It told her that he had the character he needed.

If Jim had been a bit angered by the entire manipulative ordeal, it was nothing compared to the fury he felt at this manipulation. His fury became a supernova in his mind. He had closed his eyes for a moment to collect himself. It allowed him to focus his anger into a laser pinpoint. He wasn't angry at everyone, he was angry at Gatok.

When he opened his eyes and locked them with Gatok's the irises were red. When he spoke he did his best to keep his voice quiet. However, he couldn't quite keep the growl out of his voice as he demanded, "what the fuck did you do to my brain?"

"Since you asked nicely," Gatok laughed, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "I will answer you. James, you are as gifted as a Shanquat. Perhaps, under other circumstances you would have been chosen to serve. However, in this life you have another service to perform."

Jim ground his teeth and growled, while Spock raised an eyebrow at that statement.

Gatok smiled back at them. Raising her own eyebrow she continued, "The pathways for both seeing into the future and telepathy have been in your brain all your life. They have not been active because they were not as strong as your other talents. However, by running my mental fingers over those pathways I was able to stretch and stimulate them just enough to allow you to use them if need be.

"There will likely be times ahead of you when you will get a feeling that something is coming, or of something being out of place. **Do not** ignore these feelings," she emphasized the statement by poking Jim in the chest with each word.

"When you are looking someone in the eyes and concentrate, you will be able to pick up their surface thoughts. It will take practice to hone this skill, but it will serve you in difficult situations. Think James," Gatok said, "how convenient it would be to be able to glean the surface thoughts of a person you were negotiating with?"

That had not occurred to him. It certainly would be convenient to be able to do that and his remaining time at the academy would give him the time needed to learn to use it. He started to calm and as he did he began to realize that, if it was not overwhelming, telepathy could be very advantageous.

As she concluded she smiled almost coyly, "Together…" she sighed shaking her head, "I will not guess at what you will be able to achieve…"

Before she could finish what she was saying, Jim, who was getting more and more impatient as she continued, interrupted growling, "what about asking someone _before_ you change someone's life… like for fucking ever!"

"Ah, my, my James, you are a stubborn one," Gatok said, tilting her head to the right. Her expression changed slightly as she thought about how best to reach him… children, their children she realized with a glint of humor in her eyes. She waved her hands and the room became dark. As it did a vision slowly took shape…

_A pointed eared boy who appeared to be between two and three years of age, with short, thick blond hair, stood with his hands on his hips looking at a pointed eared girl, with brilliant blue eyes and long, straight, almost black hair in a single braid down her back. The boy was speaking, "no 'Lena, I need to see A'rin. I don't care what Auntie Ny said. I gotta see A'rin!" With that he spun and ran toward the cabin door and his face could be seen. Jim saw the face of himself as a child with Spock's ears._

_As soon as the doors closed the girl calmly went to her dresser and reached in the top drawn and grabbed a communicator which she opened. "Spock here," the communicator said._

"_Sa'mekh, Georgie went to find A'rin, again," she replied stoically._

"_Thank you T'Lena. You stay where you are. I will ensure that Georgie is recovered. One of the other parents will be there shortly to pick you up and take you to the shelter," Spock said._

_When the turbolift doors opened onto the bridge no one paid it any heed because all their attention was on the alien on the screen who was asking for 'things to make us go' all the while looking simple minded._

_While Jim was figuring out whether or not these aliens could be trusted Georgie snuck over to his seat. Georgie knew they couldn't be trusted. That was why he had to get to A'rin. He could feel Jim wavering toward trusting them so he yelled mentally, _"NO!"

_Jim almost jumped out of the command chair. The key word there being almost. It wasn't the first time that Georgie had done something like that and he had learned that he had to trust the instincts of his son. They were stronger than his own and in his short life Georgie had already saved their collective asses a couple of times. But the sneaking up behind his back on the bridge had to be fixed before it gave him a heart attack or got them all killed. Georgie was definitely his son after all!_

_Jim signaled mute to Lt. M'Ress with a hand signal, while the creature on screen continued to ask the same question repeatedly. Before the alien could realize that he was muted Jim gave quick orders, "Sulu as soon as I say that we are not going to give them anything I want you to raise forward shields to maximum. Phasers ready at my command."_

_Sulu push of a few buttons and nodded his conformation._

_Jim motioned to M'Ress to reopen communications. "Captain Denishmen, I am sorry, but we do not have spares of the things that you have requested to make you go and we do not have any engineering staff to spare. What we can do is…"_

_He didn't get to finish as the ship was rocked with several phaser blasts. Jim looked and saw that Georgie was safely ensconced under his chair for the moment. "Now Sulu, return fire, target their engines and weapons."_

When the vision faded Spock looked at Jim, raised his eyebrow and said in his driest voice, "it appears that our son will take after his birth parent."

Jim laughed at Spock's sarcasm as he hugged him, saying, "yeah, and our daughter is going to take after her father!"

They were in their own world suffused in joy knowing that they would, indeed, be able to have children. Spock had had his doubts that he would ever be a father. His eidetic memory provided him with the excruciatingly details of the painful and invasive testing he had gone through as a child. One of the results had been that he been told by both the scientists and healers that, his seed was lifeless. Apparently that would be proved incorrect. Of course, James had been told the same thing and despite that and the diligent us of contraceptives, he had become a father.

Gatok brought them back to the moment when she spoke, "I showed you that moment in time to allow you to see both that not only do you have children in your future but also the positive effects of precognition. Your children, all four of them, will be very special."

Jim then saw a vision of his daughter, T'Lena, teenager or young adult, he couldn't tell she was moving too fast. She was sparring using a quarterstaff against three men and kicking butt. He shook his head and smiled.

Spock looked at him curiously before asking, "what did you see?"

"T'Lena is going to be a kick ass fighter when she grows up!" Pride was very evident in Jim's voice when he spoke.

Spock found that response curious in the extreme. "James, why would you be proud of the fact that our daughter grew up to be a 'kick ass fighter'?" He asked both eyebrows raised as high as they would go. Vulcan's were a peaceful people, after all.

Jim giggled at Spock's reaction, and took a mental picture of his expression. He thought it was just too cute for words; he really did look like an elf right out of Rivendell, he just needed longer hair. Jim had read a lot of fantasy over the years and Tolkien would always be his favorite, no matter how old the stories were.

"Um, ah, Spock," Jim began quietly, looking his mate in the eye, putting a hand on each shoulder, "not sure how to break this to you, but she's gonna be a Kirk… it's **tradition!**"

As he said tradition he threw his arms wide, grinning from ear to ear.

That earned him the 'eyebrow of doom' from Spock, who thought that fighting should be used for self-defensive purposes only. Where Jim was of the opinion that sometimes your best defense was a good offense.

Jim could feel the weight of what he said hit Spock who shuddered slightly under his arm. If he had been less of a Vulcan he would have slumped to the floor as he realized that T'Lena, who had appeared so stoic, so Vulcan, in the original vision, would still exhibit her Kirk propensity for trouble.

Jim turned and leaned his forehead against Spock's. Their minds had become so attuned that the touching of foreheads could initiate a meld between them and that was what Jim wanted. _"Spock, pull me in, I want you to see how I saw T'Lena. You'll understand." _ Jim asked in his mind.

Spock did as Jim requested and they stood and watched T'Lena practice battle with the three men. She was a truly magnificent fighter. The staff truly was an extension of her arms. As she twirled around they could see how she used the weight of the weapon to her advantage. Jim was certain she had practiced against these men before, but they didn't stand a chance, as one by one she disarmed them and took them out of the game. Then she did something to her quarterstaff and it shrunk to palm sized. The uniform she was wearing appeared to be made of Trinatorna silk with two intertwined high Vulcan glyphs on the right shoulder which were best interpreted as they were represented as Protect and Defend.

When they pulled apart Spock understood because he felt her emotion. He was proud of her also, however it did make him want to understand what had occurred to have made her become so fiercely protective. It was during that moment of contemplation that Versat's clan took the moment to intrude upon his consciousness. They began to mummer about the return of an ancient darkness. That broke Spock's contemplative thought and he stored the information for later use. However, the presence of the clan in his mind brought the question that had been burning in his mind since soon after had they started their decent.

"Gatok, how did the ancient Vulcan's come to be here?" He inquired, hearing the laughter of Versat's clan in the back of his mind. Spock raised an eyebrow in response to the laughing in his mind, his head tilted in a questioning manner.

Gatok smiled at him, eyebrow raised and head tilted in perfect mirror. "Ah Spock, how well do you know your ancient, pre-reform history?"

Jim looked back and forth between the two and had to keep from breaking out in fits of giggles looking between the two of them. Spock looked totally clueless. Jim guessed where she was going right away. She had played god on Vulcan before she came here.

Then Spock's eyes lit up and Jim could see that he understood as well. "You were one of the Vulcan pre-reform goddesses before you came here," he said with his usual confidence.

Her smile was bright as the sun as she said, "excellent Spock!" And with that she stood and in a bright flash, transformed into a beautiful Vulcan female dressed in warrior garb.

Her bearing was no longer soft. It became hard as diamond. She was dressed in knee high leather boots made for walking; soft pants of what appeared to be some kind of heavily worked skin; leather armor with what looked like a skin tight body suit underneath; arm guards, full quiver of arrows and an unslung bow on her back next to a the hilt of a long sword; long black hair done in a braid that flowed to her waist topped with the crown of the house of Surak!

That crown had been a war prize, taken by the disciples of Surak after the war to give to his descendants. Spock's mouth was agape when he saw it because it identified her: T'Pel, the ancient Warrior Goddess. What was most shocking to Spock about this revelation was that according to history all of her Adepts fled with The Sundered to join with/become Romulan's.

Spock looked at her, mouth agape, for several seconds before he said, "T'Pel, if your followers went with the Sundered why did you not accompany them?" He was genuinely confused.

"That is a simple answer. It is because, even though I was the Warrior Goddess I also agreed that the path that Surak proposed was the correct one for the Vulcan civilization at the time. I had only become the Warrior Goddess because that was what was needed at the time of our arrival. Just as my friends Khosarr and Akraana became the God and Goddess of War to other tribes," T'Pel/Gatok explained.

"Being in agreement with Surak, that something needed to be done to control the raging emotions of the Vulcan race, I simply could not support The Sundering. Therefore, I left those Adepts who went with The Sundered and refused to go with them. However, I did not believe that the complete suppression of emotion was the answer either, so I searched for some people who would fit me."

She sighed and looked around at the gathered ghosts. The Vulcan's had moved to the front while she was speaking. Versat had moved to her side, offering her his fingertips in an obvious form of Vulcan kiss, which she accepted with a smile. The chair she had been sitting in dissolved back into the dirt that it came from in a puff, partially obscuring the ghosts for a moment; with the exception of Versat.

Jim and Spock looked at each other.

"_Alll righty then,"_ Jim said through the bond, surprise tinting his mental voice.

"_If you are attempting to say, in that illogical manner, that that gesture clarifies the Versat connection, I agree,"_ Spock replied.

"_I was just saying I was surprised. I don't think I know what you're trying to get at."_ Jim gave Spock his own version of 'the eyebrow of doom'. He had been working on it for two months but he knew it was laughable.

Spock confirmed that by raising his own eyebrow with a twitch of his lips and light in his eyes.

Sensing their surprise over her relationship with Versat, T'Pel/Gatok interrupted their musing, "I am not the only Organian to take advantage of the pleasures of the flesh when it is available. When I was on Vulcan I always had a consort. Versat was one of my favorites; I had come to enjoy not only our physical but our metaphysical relationship as well."

Jim was incredulous, "physical, you said you have a physical relationship?"

She laughed, "had James, had. He is dead now."

Jim snorted a laugh, "yeah, right," he rubbed his face, "must be more tired than I thought if I even asked that." He paused and looked at them and made a screwed up face before he spoke again, "but, well, I'd sort of like to know if, um, maybe there was some way for you to, you know, make him physical again," he struggled to reply, shrugging and waving his hands.

Gatok smiled sadly, "no," she replied. "I would like to create a body for him, but although I could recreate a body that would look like him, his katra could not inhabit it. That is beyond my ability. He would need to be reborn into another body if he desired to become physical once again."

"I'm sorry," Jim said, thinking how difficult it would be for him to go on now without the other half of his soul should anything happen to Spock. He shook his head and said, "if you would continue with your story, please."

"As soon as I decided to take my leave there was an outcry; an outcry only I heard. It was from the katras of those who had been my Adepts. They also felt there was no longer a place for them on a planet that had abandoned emotion, so they decided to follow me. Thus they are here in the Ha'Tshi." When she was finished with her explanation T'Pel once again became Gatok.

She took a good look at Jim and realized that he was exhausted from everything that had occurred that day. Walking to Jim she extended her hand to him. "Come here James," Gatok beckoned.

He stood hesitantly and took her proffered hand. He was wary of her however.

Gatok steadied him and moved to place her hands on his temples. Panicked, he stepped back, eyes big, brows up and put his hands up. "Whoa there," Jim said, "what now?" The last thing he wanted was for her to find some other dormant mind powers awaken. He had enough, thank you very much.

Gatok put her hands down, realizing that to Jim she must seem to be a bit monstrous at the moment. She glanced down briefly. When she looked back at Jim her expression was sad. "I am sorry James, you have every right to refuse to allow me to touch your mind after I altered you without your permission," she admitted. "However, no matter how sorry I am, I did what is needed; For the future of us all." She shook her head and smiled slightly, "now, if you would allow me, I would give you energy? For your return trip?"

Jim sighed and stepped forward again nodding. "Thank you," he said, almost sagging into her.

Spock stood at the same time Jim stood and watched with both his eyes and their bond as the scene unfolded in front of him. At one point he had been ready to step to Jim's aid, but it had been unnecessary. He was glad that Gatok was giving Jim energy. Otherwise they would either be sleeping on the cold rocks or he would be carrying Jim over his shoulder like a sehlat cub. Jim receiving energy was the preferable option. Although, his lips did twitch when he pictured Jim's reaction to waking up and finding out he was being carried over Spock's shoulder.

When Jim stepped back he was practically vibrating with energy. "Wow, thanks Gatok. I feel great now!" he crowed jumping up and down.

She smiled and laughed, as she said with amusement, "James, the energy I gave you will not last for so long that you can afford to use it up jumping in one place." He stopped and pouted at her when she said that, which caused her smile to brighten.

Gatok stepped back, waving her hand negligently toward the sofa and coffee table which after a flash became a pile of rocks.

"It is time for you to depart. T'remel will have had food prepared and placed in a cooling unit in my Guest House. All who come to the Ha'Tshi have the right to stay in my Guest House as a courtesy." She stepped forward and touched them both on center their foreheads. "You young men, however, may find things there to be, hmm… quite extraordinary," she said with a wink.

After a short non-verbal communication Jim and Spock offered her the Shanquat Obeisance, as they had with T'remel when they had arrived. As they stood they could tell she appreciated the gesture by her emotions.

Gatok once again became T'Pel and she gave them the gesture which was the precursor to the Ta'al, first two fingers together, as in a kiss, the other three spread wide.

Jim and Spock returned the gesture before they turned and began their ascent.

a/n: Please Review!


	25. Chapter 25 David

Bunnybutton: LOL! Thanks, point taken. Henceforth I will try to keep you posted on the doings of the 'evil squid' or their underlings, in each chapter. And, thanks to your nudge, I figured out a tie-in to Into Darkness you should LOVE!

Everyone else – see what frequent reviews can get you? You tell me you really like certain parts of the story and I will see what I can do to magnify them. BTW, to those who have been asking about Mpreg, your wish is about to come true.

Many, many thanks to Trekkergurl, my Beta for the entire story!

Chapter 25 - David

… "_It is time for you to depart. T'remel will have had food prepared and placed in a cooling unit in my Guest House. All who come to the Ha'Tshi have the right to stay in my Guest House as a courtesy." She stepped forward and touched them both on center their foreheads. "You young men, however, may find things there to be, hmm… quite extraordinary," she said with a wink._ …

During their climb out of the cave Spock found himself contemplating Gatok's final communiqué with him. When she touched his and Jim's foreheads that final time, she planted a message in his mind and he had been working it out while they were walking.

Meanwhile, that touch had triggered a series of hormonal shifts in Jim. Under normal circumstances a s'treu would be triggered to produce eggs if he was mated to a male and the male went into heat. However, there was a mostly forgotten piece of s'treu biology: during times of population crisis any s'treu, even one in a committed relationship with a female, could go into a heat of their own in order to attract males for the sole purpose of getting pregnant to increase said population.

Jim was uncharacteristically quiet during the climb. He felt… weird. That was the only way he could describe it. Ever since Gatok touched his forehead he had been getting these rushes of pleasure that would start in his crotch as a pleasant warmth and spread outwards. Every time it happened he had to stop and breathe for a second before he could continue. His brain felt that familiar blur that came from being drugged, yet there had been no drugs. He was certain there had not been any drugs, but he really did feel pleasantly buzzed.

Spock reached the surface first with Jim several seconds behind him. Jim wasn't paying much attention to anything however and walked right into a Vulcan wall. Jim giggled for a second before he straightened himself. The he stepped up next to him. Glancing at Spock Jim said, "hey babe."

Spock raised an eyebrow and replied, "hay is a dried grass fed to both single and double toed ungulates when fresh grasses are not available."

Jim nodded and laughed before he said, "at least you didn't just say horses, you included all of 'em, cows, camels, and goats, all of 'em. You're a veritable equal opportunity joker."

"Indeed," Spock replied taking a deep breath through his nose, designed to be relaxing. However, his Vulcan olfactory sense picked up a new pheromone coming from Jim and suddenly the message Gatok had put in his mind became clear; she had put Jim into heat.

Jim watched as Spock took a deep breath then looked like he was about to say something but then, suddenly everything about his visage changed. To Jim it looked like a switch went off. Which was literally, what had occurred. A biochemical switch went off in Spock's brain when he smelled the pheromone that Jim's body was producing specifically designed to ensnare a mate: his nostrils flared to provide him with more of the delicious scent, his expression changed from puzzled to intensely interested, his pupils dilated until the iris of brown was nearly invisible. Spock shook his head in an attempt to keep his Vulcan control even as he felt his body reacting.

Spock took a careful step back from Jim and held him at arm's length by his shoulders, and said, "James, stand back from me for a moment and allow me to regain control." He was looking deeply into Jim's eyes while he asked to ensure that Jim, in his intoxicated state, understood.

Jim nodded and relaxed in Spock's grip, no longer attempting to push forward into his grip.

Spock took an additional step back and closed his eyes while he rebuilt enough of his emotional control that they could function.

Jim did as he was told and took the time to take in everything about his beloved on that day in that place. All of the dirt only added to his appeal.

T'remel had been sitting in the sun meditating waiting for them to return. When he felt Jim's energy returning to the surface, he realized it felt… different. He stood and moved so that he was facing the opening. As soon as he set eyes on Jim he realized what the difference was, Jim had been touched by Gatok. He was glowing with Her energy.

He watched their emotional interaction; however, as a eunuch he was totally oblivious to the sexual overtones. So, when he had crossed the near fifty meter distance, he spoke, "James, Spock welcome back!"

Jim's reaction was instantaneous. Everything about him became as hard as the diamond he had in his pocket. He put up his left hand, palm up. Looking T'remel in the eyes, Jim hissed, "silence" in a voice that would have been heard easily in the back of a large auditorium. Birds in the vicinity fell silent from the power of the emotion behind that word. T'remel had to admit that he was impressed by how well it worked. He had known that one day James would learn how to project, he was glad that this developed now that he had a Vulcan bonded to him to temper him.

It was another minute before Spock felt centered enough to allow them to get to the guest house. As long as he did not touch Jim in the interim they would be fine.

When he opened his eyes Jim was staring at him with concern. He put up a hand to make sure that Jim stayed where he was, as he said, "Ashayam, it is difficult at the moment for me to remain in control around you, you must refrain from touching me until we reach the Guest House."

Jim frowned but nodded. He then turned to T'remel and said, "take us to the Guest House, please."

T'remel had taken the moments during which Spock centered himself as an opportunity to "look" at their auras instead of their emotions and discovered that they were each surrounded in bright red auras with a sparking electric red cord connecting the two. A light went off in his mind; it had been a while since he had seen a mating dance. No wonder he had misunderstood the subtle tension he had misread when he first saw them. However, once that light did go off he was fully cognizant of the need to get them to the Guest House quickly. It was a good thing that it was nearby. He led them around to a path on the side toward the valley and began walking. Running parallel with them along the path were several long Gatok trunks.

"Follow that path lined with Gatok trunks. It will lead you to the Guest House. Walking quickly, you can reach it in less than five minutes." T'remel pointed to a path that, if you didn't look for it, you wouldn't have noticed it. "There is plenty of food inside. I had J'ndal stock it for several days in case it was needed." With that he turned and left them.

Jim and Spock walked toward the spot in the wall where T'remel had pointed. It appeared as though three large Gatok trunks ran into the rock wall at that point and had created a crack. When they reached it they realized it was actually a very wide crack that had been there for millennia, that the tree had taken advantage of. As they were instructed, they followed the trunks.

When they walked to the end of the crack it opened out onto the river valley side of the mountain, definitely high enough to be out of the way of floods. That view alone would have been worth the walk through the crack, but it paled in comparison to the vision in front of them. The three Gatok trunks came together into a grove of a sort and became the Guest House itself.

Jim had a difficult time believing what he was seeing at first. He shook his head and looked at Spock who had his mouth open in surprise. He checked the bond to confirm. "Okay, so you see that too," Jim told him.

Spock swallowed before he spoke, "if by _that _you mean the grove that is the house, yes, I see _that._"

Jim smiled at him, "good to hear that snark in your voice that my love! I always want you by my side to snark at me," He really, _really, _wanted to jump on his mate and it was killing him not to climb on him right then and there. So, he suggested, "um, don't you think we should go inside?"

As they approached they could truly appreciate the house. It was amazing and anyone who had not met Gatok would find their Goddess belief furthered by the awe that it inspired. After all, it was not every day that you found a house that was grown! It was Jim's understanding that there was a Guest House on wherever there was access to the Ha'Tshi.

The outside of the house was, naturally, covered in the deep cinnamon colored, smooth bark of the tree. No vines marred the surface and it had grown spaces for windows and doors, branches creating a peaked roof of a sort. There were other branches that sprouted from the ground and grew as proper shade trees to provide summer cooling.

Inside the house practically glowed with the golden color of the wood. The kitchen was to the left and a living area to the right, with an entertainment screen. In the kitchen, along the wall that was the front of the house, there was a counter with cabinets above that were all grown out of the wood of the tree. The sink, chiller and replicator were along the next wall, with an open breakfast bar along the hall to the bedrooms. There were three bedrooms. The master had a king sized mattress on a wood platform grown from the floor, and a lamp on a table next to it with a chronometer. The second had a queen sized bed, also on a grown platform and the third bedroom had two sets of bunk beds on opposite walls with the bunks grown from the walls.

There was not one wall or door that was not part of the Gatok tree. The wood was almost alit from within with shades of gold, yellow and white running through the grain with the occasional darker cinnamon streak. There were no decorations on the walls, for they needed none. The wood was its own decoration. It was breathtaking.

It was a beautiful evening and all the windows had been opened. There was a breeze that flowed either down the valley to the ocean or from the ocean up the valley depending on the season. That night it was flowing from the ocean up the valley and the air was full of the smell of the ocean.

Spock could hear Jim's lusty little thoughts leaking in through the bond by the time they got in the door and that had him prepared, so that he could make sure the door was closed and that they actually make it into the bedroom.

Jim leached onto him as soon as they entered and would not be dislodged, not completely. Spock did get him to shift as he moved from engaging the privacy locks to the master bedroom. If he had not prepared himself, they would have been on the floor fucking like rabbits.

Spock was grateful that the house was small. Quickly he maneuvered Jim so that his legs were around his waist. He found he was beginning to drown in Jim's emotions and pheromones. They were a very heady mixture; one with a greater guarantee of success in causing him to lose control than dark chocolate. So, to distract himself he counted the strides to the bedroom, making them as long as he could.

"_One, two, three,"_ Spock suppressed a gasp as Jim bit his neck before beginning the count again, however by then he had taken several more and had lost count. Guessing he started counting again, _"seven, eight, nine, ten, elevennnnnnnnnnnnn, twelve."_ He couldn't count any more. Jim had successfully distracted him from counting by the time he started on his ear. Between licks and nips Jim told him how much he loved him and wanted Spock to fuck him senseless.

When they reached the bed Spock was growling low in his throat. He was so hard his dick hurt. Before he let Jim go he tore his shirt off, and then dropped his torso onto the bed. Spock then grabbed the fasteners of Jim's pants and began to take them off. His eyes were burning into Jim's, which were glowing white.

As soon as Spock had undone Jim's pants and started to pull them down Jim released his legs so he could get them off. He separated out Jim's briefs then threw the jeans across the room. Bringing the briefs to his nose Spock inhaled deeply, closing his eyes, mouth open slightly, savoring the scent.

Watching that display Jim moaned and he felt an intense throbbing, not only from his cock, but from inside. Spock opened his eyes and pinned him where he was with his gaze as he stripped himself. Jim held his cock with his left hand while he investigated between his legs with his right. His ch'la had opened and were now like lips, very sensitive moist lips. Investigating further he found his vagina and he moaned deeply when he sunk his middle finger inside. He brought his hand to his face, first smelling then tasting himself. "Omm, yum," he said.

Spock had opened his eyes and was as the teresh-kah (Vulcan - 'silver-bird', hawk like predator) watching its prey as Jim investigated the changes in his genitals. As soon as he had removed his pants and stood he took Jim's ankles in his hands to ensure he did not touch himself; he was already painfully hard.

When Jim put his finger in his mouth he couldn't stand it anymore. "Do not move," Spock commanded throwing Jim's briefs over his shoulder. "Your scent is quite different at the moment and it is quite," he paused, raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side, and made sure to emphasize the next word, "_fascinating."_

That caused Jim to snort, remembering their earlier conversation about the word. Spock got on his knees on the bed, still looking Jim in the eyes, picked up his legs and put one on each shoulder and began kissing the insides of his knees.

"Oh, God, Spock, that is such a tease. Ugh, owww," he finished when Spock nipped a particularly sensitive area on the back of his leg. Spock, however, was not in the mood for teasing, much. He dropped his head down for a taste; Jim's body had to taste better than his briefs. For one brief second he marveled at evolution's mechanisms as he gazed at Jim's external female parts open for the first time. There lies the greatest source of the pheromone produced by a s'treu in heat, designed to draw the male. No Veenan male would have been able to resist this long and once Spock dipped his tongue into Jim's honey pot, he was lost to reason.

And taste Jim he did. Spock began to lick the delicious juice between Jim's legs until he found the hole that was the source and began sticking his tongue in there. He fucked Jim with his tongue and tried to suck out any juices he could get.

Jim couldn't believe how good that felt. He could feel himself producing the moisture that Spock was seeking. He writhed and moaned, his hands carding through Spock's hair. Jim had been trying to stroke himself but Spock wouldn't allow him to touch himself so he was getting crazy.

"Yeah, oooohhh, God Spock, fuck me with your tongue," but he needed more; he needed Spock inside him. He was bucking and writhing into Spock's face, trying to get his tongue deeper, until he couldn't take it anymore.

He started to whimper and beg, "mmmm, Spock, please, oh, pleassse."

Spock lifted his head and looked at his mate. "Ashayam, what is thy desire?" he asked, his voice half an octave deeper than normal.

Jim spiraled deeper into his desire at that. It was the whole picture; not just the voice, or the formal speech, added to the overall picture was Spock looking totally debauched. Jim looked him in the eyes and said, very deliberately, "fuck me Spock. Please?"

"Your wish is my desire, K'diwa," Spock said as crawled up Jim's body, licking a trail as he went. He licked up Jim's penis, which twitched happily at the contact. His brain categorized the lack of pre-cum for later study. As Spock got close to his target he grabbed his own dripping cock and lined it up with his target. He dipped his head down and kissed Jim deeply, allowing him to taste himself as he began to enter him.

Jim moaned into his mouth and mumbled, "mm a virgin this way ashaya, mmm, just for you," as he brought his legs around Spock's back and began to pull him in.

Spock pulled his head back several centimeters so that he could look into Jim's eyes. He was unsurprised to find them open; watching as he slowly penetrated him.

When Spock was fully seated Jim was feeling pleasure from both outside from pressure on his cock and deep inside. "Move," he said as he bucked upward, and Spock did. "Oh, yeah," Jim said, "that's it, fuck me baby."

Spock pulled out and drove back in hard. Jim was amazed at the sensation. He muttered and cursed encouragement to his love in every language he knew. Every time Spock drove into him he hit that spot inside that was like but not like having him hit his prostate. It was glorious.

As soon as Spock's forehead hit Jim's the meld was instantaneous. Their usual pleasure during the meld was tripled. Spock found himself pounding Jim into the mattress because he knew that was what pleasured him the most.

Jim was flying high on endorphins and every time Spock hit that spot he got higher and higher. Suddenly, Spock's mouth was right there and they started trying to suck each other's tongues out of their mouths, clashing teeth and nipping in the process. Jim had been close and that was all it took to push Jim over the edge into an earth shattering orgasm. He ejaculated through his vagina welcoming every continuing pound that Spock could give him. His scream was captured by Spock's continued kisses. It was not long before Spock followed him into orgasm.

The world turned into a bright white explosion for them both and for an immeasurable amount of time, their souls floated, merged together as one being. They had finally gotten under each-others skin.

It was two more days before they emerged. By the time they left they had made love in the shower and the tub; on the table and the counter in the kitchen; and every flat surface that could hold Jim's weight in the living room. All the fresh food that had been stocked by J'ndal had been eaten, plus some of the canned food that was stored there 'just in case.'

Gatok had accomplished her goal; Jim was pregnant.

OoO

On their return to P'tar Jim took them for a tour of the small city of Umseta. Jim had lived there with his mother while they had stayed on Veenu, because there was a Starfleet Multicultural Center (where Winona had worked) and a University (where Jim had studied) located there and it was only 15.23 kilometers from T'remel in D'Matri.

Although Umseta called itself a city there were no high-rise buildings or endless blocks of row homes. In the outer area, where they had lived, none of the houses were taller than two stories and they all had small yards that surrounded them. Each house had either two or four apartments each. Jim and Winona had lived in one of the four apartment buildings. The largest buildings in Umseta were those at the University and the Starfleet Multicultural Center, where Winona had worked.

Umseta had served their purpose while they had lived there. However, the place left a sour feeling in Jim's mouth because it made him remember Carol beating him through their bond after she found out she was pregnant.

Jim kept telling himself it was just going to be a quick drive-through, with the one stop. He should have remembered that most things in his life never worked out quite that way. If he did, he never would have consented to Spock's request to show him the Multicultural Center without first thoroughly expressing his fears. If he had, they would not have walked into the Multicultural Center that morning to the cheery face of last person he wanted to see: Carol Marcus.

Jim swallowed, but stood his ground as Carol narrowed her eyes and her smile changed to a smirk.

"Um, hi Carol," Jim said keeping his voice as steady as possible. He had unconsciously clutched Spock's hand as soon as he saw her and his Vulcan calm was helping him cope.

Spock felt Jim's self-deprecating feelings as soon as he saw Carol and from the pictures he had seen in Jim's mind he quickly realized that this was the mother of his t'hy'la's son, the woman who had hurt Jim and then refused to let him be a part of his son's life. As quickly as the anger rose he squashed it hard; he needed to be in complete control, for his Jim.

Jim pulled himself closer to Spock, using their joined hands, looked him in the eye, and with a smile turned back to Carol to introduce him. "Carol, this is Spock, my _Ama_."

Carol's mouth fell open when Jim introduced the Vulcan, whose hand he was clutching, as his Ama. "You're _Ama?_" she asked, incredulous.

"Indeed," returned Spock with the raise of an eyebrow, head cocked in a posture Jim called 'the eyebrow of doom'. "And, _you_ are the mother of his son." Spock took a step toward her, looking down at her, his eyes boring into hers, "to whom you have forbidden him access."

He took another step into her personal space. Carol correctly interpreted that as being a threatening gesture and backed up. Spock moved with her until she had backed up five paces to the counter and she was pinned. Spock never let go of Jim's hand and pulled him along, so he was standing right behind him as Spock growled at Carol, "that ends now. You _will allow James to meet David __**today!**_**"**

With that Spock backed up two steps. Carol gulped and nodded, her blue eyes were the size of saucers. She shook her head and said, "I…" she swallowed and tried again, "um, I thought Vulcan's were a peaceful people."

Spock simply raised an eyebrow and returned matter-of-factly, "we are. Until something or someone brings out our more primal instincts, for example someone who has caused _pain_ to our mate." He leaned forward menacingly, as he hissed the word pain, causing Carol to flatten herself against the counter and lean back.

Spock immediately gave Carol her space back and she dropped her head, looking at the floor. She found herself performing an intensive study of the non-pattern on the floor tiles as what Spock said hit home. It was very true that she had not simply hurt Jim, she had been intentionally emotionally cruel to him through their empathic bond; if it had not been for Winona and T'remel she was certain it would have been much worse. Considering all the guilt he had already harbored over Tarsus IV, what she had done had been extra cruel. And, although her Deep Reflection with the Ha'Tshi had been terrifying, it had made all of her own petty motivations clear. She owed Jim so many apologies she didn't even know where to begin.

When Carol looked up she nailed Spock with a determined glance before moving to Jim. When her blue eyes met his they were etched with sadness. "Jimmy, I'm sorry for everything," she started. Carol looked down briefly, then right back into Jim's eyes, this time there was determination in them as she continued, "what I did was wrong Jim. Nothing was your fault. And most of all, I had no right to say the things that I did. I was just so…" she shook her head and looked at her shoes, "scared of the possibilities." As she finished she looked back at Jim beseechingly.

Everything in Jim began to feel lighter as Carol apologized and he felt her sincerity. "Thank you," he said. "I feel lighter hearing that Carol."

Just as he had been ready to ask her about David, Carol looked at her wrist chrono and her face lit up as she said, "Well, I'll be. You have perfect timing. If we start walking we can get to David's school in time for his lunch. Would it be a good time for you to meet him now?"

Spock was suspicious at the suddenness of her request and of the timing. A child's school lunch was generally one hour in length. "Excuse me," he asked, giving her the 'eyebrow of doom' once more, "is there not a better time, perhaps when James time with David would not be constricted by the limited time of a proposed school lunch meeting?"

Spock's protectiveness of him made Jim feel a lot better about himself in the situation at hand.

That time the 'eyebrow of doom' caused a different reaction from Carol: she bristled. Frowning, she squared her shoulders before she replied in a clipped tone, "well, excuse life for getting in the way Commander Spock but, it just so happens that my parents are picking David up after school to take him to Disney Planet for the next week! So, unless you are planning on hanging around, the answer is NO."

Spock's eyebrows looked like they were going to crawl off of his head, as they disappeared behind his bangs. He was confused by Carol's defensiveness. Jim tried very hard not to laugh at his reaction, "um, K'diwa," he said as he laid a hand on Spock's shoulder, "you can't just get all protective and give people your 'eyebrow of doom' and not expect them to get defensive."

Spock turned to Jim, who had his first two fingers extended in a kiss. There were many things that flashed through Spock's mind as potential replies as he brought his fingers up to Jim's, he settled on asking, "eyebrow of doom?"

Jim gave him a brilliant smile and a little laugh as he explained, "you, Ashayam, have a way of raising your eyebrow, focusing your eyes and cocking your head that I started calling the 'eyebrow of doom' before we ever got together, that is extremely intimidating. Many people, like Carol here, can get really defensive when you turn it on them." He then looked into Spock's eyes very mischievously before stating very quietly, "of course, I think it's rather hot in the right situation."

As Carol watched their interaction she relaxed as it became clear that the reason that Spock had acted as he had was because he was being protective of his mate. She was glad that she had taken a course in xenocultural studies, she was not so surprised that she did not pick up on any emotions from him; the shielding Vulcan's utilized she could understand, but the strict emotional control she could not.

She put up her hands in a gesture of surrender to get their attention. When they looked at her she first addressed Spock, "my apologies for being so defensive Mr. Spock. This whole situation is rather sudden."

Carol was interrupted by a huge guffaw from Jim. "Sorry," he said, between laughs, "that's like," he took a deep breath to steady himself, "got to be one of the biggest understatements." Jim then looked from Carol to Spock and concluded, "and I thought Spock had that market cornered."

Spock proceeded to give Jim the 'eyebrow of doom'. However, instead of intimidating him it sent him into hysterics.

Carol couldn't help snickering; she thought they were adorable. Of course, she would never mention that to either of them. She placed her hands on her hips, looked Jim in the eye, raised an eyebrow of her own and said, "well, do you want to meet your son or not?"

Jim's stopped laughing and smiled at her so brightly she thought for a moment she needed to put on her sunglasses before they went outside as he chirped, "absofuckinglutely!"

Carol fixed him with her sternest mother look and said, "watch your language around our son James Tiberius Kirk!"

Jim stood at attention and saluted her, but he couldn't keep the silly grin off his face as he snapped, "yes ma'am."

Carol shook her head and smiled at him. She turned right and waved for them to follow her out of the building.

As she went to link arms with Jim, he pulled away, closer to Spock, saying, "I really don't think that's a good idea right now."

Carol raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips. _"What the hell does he mean by that?"_ she thought. So she tuned in her special ability and looked at their auras and saw two tiny shining gold spots in Jim's abdomen connected to two just as bright shining golden cords twined tightly together connecting the two men. She blinked twice in surprise then nodded as she said, "ah, now I understand. Congratulations!"

Jim could feel Spock's surprise that Carol could tell that he was pregnant when they were not absolutely sure yet. Jim didn't feel any different, except that his ch'la remained open, but he smiled and crowed inside as he gleefully informed his beloved, "um, Spock, Carol is an aura reader."

At Carol's proclamation, Spock found himself momentarily assaulted by his own emotions: joy, love and a fierce need to protect what was his. Jim had turned to face him with his hands up. Spock took the invitation and slowly slid their fingers together. At the moment, he did not care if Carol understood the meaning of the gesture or not. They stood there for several moments, ignoring everything around them, lost in each other's joy and love, until Carol couldn't take it anymore and cleared her throat really loud.

"Ahem." Carol cleared her throat a second time, that time she made it obvious, so Jim looked at her.

"Yes Carol. We know that you are there, but you just confirmed what we only suspected/hoped might be the case. So give us a sec, please?" Jim asked.

"_Is she always like this?" _Spock enquired through the bond.

"_Pushy?" _Jim returned and Spock nodded.

"_Yeah. Kind of like you,"_ Jim said in his head, kissing him on the lips before releasing his right hand, moving to Spock's side so they could walk on.

"Okay, so let's walk to his school and on the way, tell me a story about my son that will tell me something about what he's like, please Carol?" Jim asked.

Carol smiled, and rubbed her hands together because she had the perfect story for him. "At the school there's one boy who used to be a pretty nasty bully to the younger kids; until David got there. His name's Joe and he's in fifth grade, and he seemed to be amused by the fear he caused. I'm using past and present here because Joe is still in school, but David taught him a lesson and he is no longer a bully. David taught him to fear."

Jim raised an eyebrow at her and said, "how did a six year old make a ten/eleven year old fear anything?"

Carol snickered as she said, "he is a very clever, charismatic boy. It took him a couple of months to formulate a plan. He found out, through gossip, that Joe had an extreme fear of snakes because of a practical joke played on him by one of his brothers. So David got everyone in his classes who weren't afraid to go looking for non-venomous snakes. He got lucky and found a nest of pretty newly hatched Gith snakes around four inches long. He had previously watched Joe at his locker and gotten the combination. Over the next three weeks he was able to get the snakes hidden in places that would surprise him and freak him out. The first day he put three baby snakes in his baseball cap and turned it upside down so he would dump them on his head."

Jim was totally amazed at the plan: totally non-violent. Jim's first thought would have been to beat the shit out of the kid, even if he was bigger. David, on the other hand, at six, did something non-violent to teach the kid a lesson. Jim found himself impressed.

"Well… What was the result?" Jim enquired, gesturing with his free hand for Carol to get on with it.

"David had most of the male first graders hanging out in the hallway in the area of Joe's locker at the end of the day. Well, when Joe went to put it on his head the snakes fell on him and he screamed like a baby. Everybody in the hall stopped and looked at him while he flung one of them away like it was deadly. People started to laugh at him. So he started to yell. This caught the attention of a nearby teacher who came over just as Joe started to shake and really freak out as he realized that the other two snakes had gotten into his shirt." She paused giggling for a second remembering the situation.

"The teacher helped Joe get the two baby snakes out of his shirt and then asked those standing around if anyone knew who was responsible. As one the group of thirty six assembled first graders raised their hands!" She shook her head and looked at Jim, "he's your son, I have to say that. When Mrs. Stap asked them if they had a spokesman he proudly stepped forward and introduced himself, just like you did, with the Robocop after you drove the 'Vet off the cliff. And he told her flat out, that it was because he was a bully to all of the younger kids; that he liked to make them afraid. And worst of all none of the adults were doing anything so they were doing something."

Jim automatically put his hands to his abdomen wondering if the little cells dividing down there were going to wind up like that too. Then he remembered Gatok's vision and realized that they would, and he smiled slyly.

Carol continued talking while Jim was wondering about his little ones. "Mrs. Stap told him that the adults did indeed do something whenever they caught him. However, it appeared that Joe may have found a way to bully when the adults were out of range. The kids acknowledged that. Then she told the group to leave except for David. Joe wanted to know what she was going to do to punish him. She told him that was none of his business and told him to leave since he was once again composed. She pulled David into one of the classrooms and the first thing she did was pat him on the back and smile at him. He was confused until he became aware that she was going to become his coconspirator. She told him that if Joe didn't back off after what had just happened she would help him teach him a lesson. Well, he started in on David after that, but David didn't give in to him and got bruised up, but he never felt defeated and started carrying around a snake in his pocket! So together with Mrs. Stap and several other members of the staff they decided to use the snake approach after every incident of bullying. So, he wound up with snakes in his gym shorts, book bag, desk in the math class and his pockets of his jacket. The last one was in the tip of his right sneaker in the boy's gym locker room and it bit his big toe as he put his foot into it. At that point, all hell broke loose.

"Once a Gith snake bites down on something, it eats it, dies or is somehow released. But it cannot open its own mouth. You _can_ press the jaw joints between your fingers and press them together and cause the snake to open its mouth farther. So, while Joey was lying on the floor screaming about how he was going to die, David walked over calmly, grabbed him by the right ankle and took the baby five inch baby snake off his toe. Then he walked around to Joey, with the living baby snake in his hand and said, 'Joey, repeat after me: I will no longer bully anyone because now I know what it's like to experience fear.' Ever since then Joey has been very nice to everyone." Carol concluded, pride in her voice and bleeding through her shields to Jim and Spock.

David Marcus was excited. Atrin (mother) was coming for lunch and then his Stin (grandparents) would be picking him up after school to take him to Disney Planet for the week! So, as soon as the lunch bell rang he made a beeline for his Atrin. He skidded to a halt ten feet before his destination however, when he recognized the figure standing next to his Atrin; it was his Ain. David had been bugging his Atrin about his Ain. There were some photographs of him, but nothing else, so David wanted to know everything about him. Last thing that she had told him was that his Ain was at Starfleet Academy on Earth. What was he doing here?

As soon as they laid eyes on one another, something neither of them had realized was missing, clicked into place: the parental empathic bond. For a full minute they simply stood and stared at one another, emotions passing between them.

Overwhelmed and with tears leaking freely from his eyes, Jim sank to his knees, letting go of Spock's hand in the process. Spock moved behind him and put his hands on Jim's shoulders to continue providing extra emotional support. He felt Jim's gratitude through the tumult of other emotions sweeping through him.

Carol watched her son while he stared at his father. In many ways he was a miniature of his sire. If you looked at photographs of six year old Jim Kirk and six year old David Marcus you would find very little difference between them in looks. David was also quite charming, people loved him. He was boisterous and protective of others, especially females. And, he got his intelligence from both his parents so he had a tendency to be too smart for his own good.

David was a strong empath and once the bond was established he was able to determine quite a bit about the s'treu in front of him. Once David completed his assessment, he launched himself at Jim; every ounce of him, one hundred percent pure six year old boy.

Jim opened his arms to the oncoming bolt of lightning, and was extra grateful for the presence of Spock's legs behind his back as he was hit with a small, blond cannon ball named David Marcus. "Ain!" he yelled in Jim's ear as Jim hugged him, laughing and crying at the same time. Jim found that he was too.

OoO

When the young Ensign James Komack was originally on the xi home world he was implanted with two eggs, in addition to the parasite in his brain. One of the eggs became the octopus like creature that implanted parasites in others. The other was a very small squid that was a communication device; through it he received his messages/orders from the xi. He would stick his hand into the tank in which it lived and as it would wrap around his hand he stuck one of his fingers into its mouth and the communication would commence.

Admiral Komack sat at his desk with a cup of expertly prepared coffee, staring out his windows overlooking the academy and behind it, the Golden Gate Bridge. However, his mind wasn't on the view, or the coffee, or any of his upcoming appointments for the day; he was very disturbed. The previous night, the message he received was more cryptic than usual. They wanted him to find "The Cunning One" to fight "The Warlord." He knew who "The Warlord" was: Kirk/Spock. Who the hell was that other person who was supposed to fight him? The communication had sent a picture but he didn't recognize it. He would need to search for it. But there was a big problem with that: he found out he was being surveilled. A month previously, video from his home security system had captured images of some Starfleet Intelligence people looking through his home placing bugs. They didn't find what he had carefully hidden and he removed the bugs by doing a "routine sweep" for listening devices when he got home that night.

For one second the thought crossed his mind that if he had not been an admiral he would have put his head in his hands and cried. Mentally he laughed at himself. The only outward change was a very slight twitch to the right corner of his mouth. Komack wasn't a stupid man; he realized that from that point forward that anything that he was going to do would require the utmost caution.

A/N: Please, don't forget to leave me a review! It'll only take a second of your time. And each review helps the next chapter…


	26. Chapter 26 New Character Enter

There will be some minor spoilers from Into Darkness in this chapter: I am introducing Admiral Marcus and meshing things to mix that movie with this story.

This story is only fanfiction. I own nothing Star Trek, I just play with it for fun.

Chapter 26 – New Character Enter

OoO

Amanda waited anxiously at the spaceport for her son and his husband. They had been gone for a month and she missed them. Spock had sent her a comm before they left Veenu a week ago with the information about their flight.

At that moment they were at customs and there seemed to be a problem where none should exist…

Jim was pissed; the entire situation he found himself in at the moment was stupid and entirely unnecessary. He had been incarcerated at customs for bringing a perfectly legal quantity of a perfectly legal substance, treforn. It had passed Federation quarantine regulations on Veenu before they left. He purchased it there because it was significantly less expensive than having it shipped. It would be the only intoxicant he could consume for the foreseeable future because of pregnancy and then breast feeding. Thinking about the reason for that, however, warmed him and made it only a minor inconvenience. So, he sat there rubbing his still tight belly, and waited for his other half to spring him.

Spock had immediately contacted Captain Pike who thought the situation was ridiculous and highly suspicious, and said that he would be right there. When Spock walked back into the room with the two customs officers, the smell of burnt treforn hit his nostrils which widened. Taking in the room he saw that Jim's box was open and he saw one of the officers smoking.

They had not noticed when Spock re-entered the room, so they were taken by total surprise when the joint was taken from their hands as it was passed between them by an irate Vulcan.

Almost simultaneously the two customs officers began to stand and yell, "what the fu…" but were effectively stopped by 'the eyebrow of doom.' Spock stared them back into their seats as he smashed the joint on the desk next to the open box of treforn. He continued to look at them as if they were vermin, not saying a word.

The two customs guards began to squirm like fish out of water.

Spock felt shame because he allowed himself some brief pleasure in watching them squirm; 43.4269 seconds to be exact. He growled, "you have detained my mate under spurious circumstances. It seems you have decided to either use his treforn for yourselves or sell it." Their eyes widened when he said that, but he went on as if he did not notice. He did, of course. "You should know that it is perfectly legal for him to bring that quantity of treforn onto Earth if it was quarantined on the other end. This package was. I demand the immediate release of James Tiberius Kirk."

They stared at him with their mouths open for a couple of seconds before the one to the left, a sergeant spoke with a cringe, "uh, we can't do that."

Spock leaned forward, nailed him with eyes that pointed like lasers, and asked in words which would have been polite had they not been growled in a voice even deeper than the previous words, "and, why would that be?"

The sergeant finally seemed to realize who he was and what he did and got his balls back. He stood up and got into Spock's face saying, "we have our orders."

Spock stood looking down at the impertinent sergeant and found himself opening and closing his fists. He could feel his rage building, face heating with blood. How dare they keep his mate from him! He growled between clenched teeth, "orders, from whom?"

That was the scene that Captain Pike walked in on. He needed to diffuse the situation quickly before the idiot sergeant got himself hurt. "Sergeant! Commander!" Pike barked, Captain's voice not to be denied, "back off immediately!"

During questioning Captain Pike had been unable to find out anything about what orders the sergeant had been talking about. There were no written orders to be found. The other officer had seen no written orders, he had only received vocal orders from his sergeant that Kirk was to be detained for any reason, no matter how spurious.

Unfortunately, the sergeant had a stroke during questioning; something that was becoming an all too familiar pattern. Days later, during the autopsy the brain was removed and sent to Dr. McCoy who, unsurprisingly, discovered a xi parasite. That officer had been in a department that was very far removed from Admiral Komack's sphere of influence. That made them all realize that the xi infestation was much wider spread then they had previously thought.

Amanda had been happy to be able to see Spock at several points throughout the wait. It helped knowing the basics of what was happening. She was sure there was a lot more to this than Spock was telling her; for one, he was very angry. He was her son, she could tell when he was angry.

She had planned on having them come to her suite at the embassy for dinner, however, with all of the commotion of the afternoon she decided to call her assistant, T'Lara, and have everything moved to Jim and Spock's apartment instead.

The food spread was beautiful; a selection of both Vulcan and Terran fruits and salads, plomeek soup, lentil stew, a stew like beef soup and fresh bread. Amanda noticed that Jim looked at the beef soup like it was personally offensive and took bowls of plomeek soup and lentil stew.

The reason Jim had looked at the beef stew like that was he had a very disturbing experience with meat. The morning after leaving Carol in Umseta, Jim and Spock decided to get breakfast at the spaceport in P'tar. Their flight would not be leaving for three more hours and Jim was feeling ravished. He decided to eat eggs and bacon for breakfast. Spock had not thought it wise because the babies would naturally require a vegetarian diet. Jim had laughed. The eggs went down alright. It was the bacon that did it; after the first several bites his skin tone began to look more like Spock's and Jim had to run to the fresher. He told Spock it felt like he vomited everything he had eaten in the last month. Spock had quietly hovered over him, washing his head, keeping others out and never once said, 'I told you so.'

Amanda was extremely curious as to the whole reason why they had needed to go to Veenu in the first place, but she kept her mouth shut and waited. She was good at waiting, she was the wife a Vulcan ambassador after all; over the years she had found that garnering information from Sarek without an argument required extreme patience. So the entire time they were eating Amanda watched Jim like a hawk, making small talk. Jim tasted the lentil stew, turned his nose up at it and pushed it away. Then he tasted the plomeek soup and Amanda watched as his eyes slid closed as he licked his lips and dipped the spoon back in the bowl. He quickly brought that spoon back to his lips and when he opened his eyes they were not focused.

Amanda laughed to herself as she watched Jim then devour four bowls of plomeek soup and half a loaf of soft bread. While he ate he was very devoted to his food and when he contributed to the meager conversation between Spock and his mother it was in monosyllables.

When Jim pushed back from the table he found Spock and Amanda staring at him. "What?" he asked shrugging his shoulders, "I was hungry."

Spock raised a brow and said, "in the past you always found plomeek soup to be bland to your pallet. Yet you bypassed the lentil stew, spiced more to your palate, in favor of it. I must admit to being puzzled."

Jim shrugged and acted obtuse. "It tasted especially good tonight," was his only comment.

Amanda snickered, she knew something neither of them did and it, along with the way he looked at the beef soup, made her suspect that Jim may have become pregnant during their trip to Veenu: Plomeek was extremely high in copper and she had craved it during her pregnancy with Spock. Then again, maybe she was just being hopeful that she really was going to have grandchildren.

"Comments from the peanut gallery?" Jim asked, looking at her pointedly, raising one of his caterpillars.

Spock cocked his head quizzically and said, "peanut gallery?"

Jim looked at him and pointed to Amanda and said through the bond, _"another idiom, means the cheap seats, in this case it's your mother_."

Spock looked even more confused wondering how his mother could be compared to 'cheap seats' and Jim could see the look in his eyes so he clarified aloud for Amanda's sake. "Spock, I do not think your mother is a cheap seat, that's just the origin of that idiom 'peanut gallery'. For several centuries now that one has been used for comments from someone not directly in a conversation. I guess Amanda never used this one when she gave you your Human lessons."

Amanda giggled as she said, "No Jim, I never had the chance to use peanut gallery on Spock because he never said anything when he was not supposed to. I'm sure you were totally different, weren't you?"

Jim looked at her and gave her a 'who me' face and laughed as he said, "me, never. I was a perfect little boy." He shrugged, doing his best to look innocent. That innocent look lasted for several seconds before he began to laugh.

Amanda looked Jim hard in the eye and said, "Jim, there's only one other Human I've ever known of that has eaten plomeek soup like they had just died and gone to heaven."

Jim raised a caterpillar and shrugged giving her a pointed look, "and who was that?"

Amanda smiled brightly, light shining in her chocolate brown eyes, "me," she said. "When I was pregnant with Spock."

Jim looked down for a minute, then looked up. He had a sly smile on his face and he directed his gaze into the eyes of his mother-in-law and said, "got it in one! Congratulations how would you prefer to be called, Grandma or Ko-mekh-il."

Amanda couldn't help but get excited when Jim confirmed that she was right. She popped up, moved in front of them and held out her arms for a hug.

As soon as she had popped up Jim stood and pulled Spock up with him; he was pretty sure that they were about to be enveloped in her arms and he was correct.

Holding onto her son and his bondmate, Amanda allowed tears to flow as she whispered to them, "thank you, thank you," repeatedly for several minutes.

OoO

Alexander Marcus sat in his plush, ergonomic desk chair at his antique real mahogany desk, in his home office in his penthouse San Francisco condominium with a 360 degree view. The windows from his office overlooked the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. He could easily pick out the tiny island of Alcatraz. On clear nights, he imagined he could see the lights of vehicles passing over the Route 580 bridge that connected San Rafael and Richmond. If he looked more straight down he could see a good part of Starfleet Academy spread out below his feet.

That was the view sans fog. It was when the fog rolled in that Alexander really appreciated the view. In the ten years he had owned the condo Alex could only remember one time when the fog had surrounded him. Other clouds had, but only once in all that time had the clouds of mist that typically rolled into San Francisco from the salt water reach the height of his condo. When that happened, and his condo sat on a bed of clouds the atmosphere became one he loved because it connected him directly to space. He had missed going into space since being promoted to Admiral, but now that he was a Fleet Admiral he could stretch his wings a bit. And being in charge of Covert Operations didn't hurt either; his Section 31 was in the process of building a top secret ship yard hidden among Jupiter's moons and the least he could do was commandeer a private shuttle to fly out to see the progress being made.

Alexander was the first male Veenan to enter Starfleet. For a Veenan to even think of entering their space academy, you needed to be a male or a s'treu and have an empathy score of at least five. If you were female or empathy blind, you were not welcome. Alex had been the Marcus family freak, born with an empathy score of less than one; if he concentrated really hard, or had physical contact with someone he could feel their emotions, but not otherwise. So, if he wanted to go into space the only place for him was Starfleet. Jan, his now ex-wife, had stayed on Earth with him until Carol, their oldest, reached puberty when her psi talents went a little haywire. By that point she was interested in Starfleet herself and most of all, sciences. But she needed the guidance of a Shanquat, as would their other children during their early teen years, as they all scored high on their empathy and would need to be in control. So they had returned to Veenu.

With his next thought, he broke the stylus that was in his hand: it had been in school, studying science, where she met the mass murderer, James Tiberius Kirk. It had been bad enough when he found out, after the fact, that they had already formed a bond, but when he found out he had gotten her pregnant… Well, to say that Alex had been enraged when he found out that Carol was pregnant with Kirk's child would be an understatement of galactic proportions. After her Deep Reflection, Carol had realized that it was his enraged reaction which had been the trigger which led to _her_ assaulting Kirk empathically through their bond, immediately after their conversation. Carol wound up being punished under Veenan law because the bond was a sacred thing. However, before she underwent her Deep Reflection with the Ha'Tshi, Alex made sure that _Kirk _would not have access to Carol's child. His wife had been very strongly against that idea of him going through the courts to invoke ancient law against Kirk. And when Alex did it anyway she divorced him, citing it having been the final piece in a very tall pile of straw. She had screamed that it had been his, "Captains, now Admirals ways," that had driven their family apart. Once Carol had realized that she had been mad at Jim, but she had also been mad at herself and she let her father's tirade push her over the edge into a dangerous rage where she hurt Jim, she cut her contact with him. It had been so bad that she still had not introduced him to his grandson.

The whole reason that was on his mind was because several hours earlier he had been informed by the network of people (he preferred that euphemism rather than to call them spies, which they really were, since Carol didn't know they were there) that he paid to keep watch on Carol that Kirk and his Vulcan ran into her at the Multi-Cultural Center where said Vulcan demanded that she allow Kirk to see David. What followed had been an extremely emotional scene in front of David's school, witnessed by several hundred people. One of the more intriguing pieces of information came from Kale Bax, who reported clearly hearing Kirk introduce Commander Spock as his Ama. Alex raised an eyebrow and snorted at the thought. Ama did not exist. It was a ridiculous romantic concept in Alex's eyes; just a legend told to children to give them hope that they could one day find a soul mate.

He slammed his fist onto the desk top, succeeding in doing nothing other than bruising the side of his hand and, possibly mollifying a bit of the anger he felt at the thought of beautiful Winona Brook, who had never given him a second glance, marrying that Human, George Kirk. Alex remembered thinking that Winona Brook was the prettiest girl he ever saw when he first saw her in primary school. She had always ignored him like he didn't exist because of his empathy blindness. He moved to secondary school after one year, but he never forgot her.

He shook the thoughts out of his head and looked back down at the PADD in his hand where he had schematics for power plant of the station but his mind was not really on it. There was something _wrong _with the calculations of how to use Jupiter's radiation as the power source. It wasn't something that he could put his finger on yet, but he could feel it in his bones. His biggest fear was that if he didn't find it something catastrophic would happen as a result.

Alex sighed and put the PADD down on the thin layer of Fleximer that covered the rare wood of the antique desk and stood, looking out over the bay when the door chime sounded. He looked at the chrono and realized that it must be Jim Komack. "For a man of his rank he sure can be an idiot. If I wasn't already sure he got his job because of his mother's connections, I'm sure now," grumbled Marcus as he walked to the door.

Alex had had some emergency business to take care of on Veenu so he put Komack in charge of things while he had been gone. If there was one person who hated Kirk as much as he did it was Jim Komack. Two of Komack's cousins had been among Kodos' guards that had been killed by Kirk. So, he had let him handle the kidnapping while Alex had made sure that the torture equipment was still in place at the governor's place on Tarsus IV. All Jim had to do was make sure that Kirk got there. And there Komack had failed: spectacularly. Alex had given the idiot a formula for a chemical that would dampen the kids ability to use his telekinesis, but along the way some dolt had mixed it with another drug, something Alex made sure Komack had been instructed _not _to do, which nullified its properties.

Alex had returned to Earth when the meeting was held that had concluded in Komack going under surveillance. Before cameras had been installed in his office, it had been Alex who had removed any incriminating evidence and warned Komack of what was coming.

Jim Komack had been his friend since shortly after meeting him when he was his advisor at the Academy. The only real thing that used to bother Alex about his friend, besides his occasional stupidity, was his xenophobia; so far the only Veenan he had turned it on was Kirk and, since he couldn't stand the little punk himself, he never said anything. Alex could admit to not liking certain races, especially Xindi. There was no Veenan who held a friendly bone in their body toward the Xindi who had almost subjugated their people. And because of political tensions he wasn't very fond of Romulans either. He did not hate any of them, he just didn't trust them.

However, there was one race of beings that he actually hated: Klingons, Alex hated Klingons with his heart and soul. He knew that he shouldn't hate them for doing what they did. In the minds of the Klingons they were doing the correct thing by destroying the ship with his first true love and her family. It had been contaminated by an unknown organism and they had, in a way, threatened the Klingon ship by trying to beam over, so the Klingons did what they thought logical and destroyed the ship. He would never, ever forgive them.

One thing Alex had been known for since he was a child: his ability to hold a grudge. He had two grudges he held very closely to his heart: Klingons and James Tiberius Kirk.

Upon granting him access Jim Komack entered, dressed in casual clothes, with a paper drawing pad under his arm.

Alex gestured toward the pad as he walked over to greet his friend and quipped with a wry smile, "planning on drawing portraits today Jim?"

As they shook hands Komack replied with a smile, "anytime Alex, anytime." Jim Komack did have significant talent in the area of art. Alex had always thought that his friend would have been more suited to being a museum curator than an admiral while painting or drawing on the side.

Komack shook his head and said, "I need to show you this image. I received it along with the message to find him; that he is The Cunning One. He is the one that is supposed to be able to defeat The Warlord."

They had worked their way into the dining room and sat down at the table. Jim set the pad on the table and opened it.

Alex sucked in his breath and scrutinized Komack. Alex sat back in his chair in shear amazement. How could people be oblivious of such a monster from their own not so distant past! Oh, he had been cunning all right: Khan Noonien Singh and his followers had killed hundreds of thousands for not fitting into his mold. It hadn't been _that _long since they had been in the academy. The Eugenics Wars were required study. How could Komack not have known who he had drawn?!

Alex scratched his head and squinted his left eye, giving Komack a look that asked plain and clear 'are you as stupid as you look?' as the words came out of his mouth, "Jim, you _really, really _don't know who it is that you've drawn do you?"

Komack shrugged looking confused, as he shook his head.

Alex's expression morphed into one of those that parents have forever reserved for when they are very disappointed in their children and shoved back his chair abruptly, standing and said, "I need a fucking drink and I don't give a damn about how early it is."

Alex walked over to a wall and pushed a button. A panel opened revealing a lighted bar area complete with a small sink, refrigerator and its own lounge chairs. He waved Komack in while he pulled a very potent Veenan liqueur from the refrigerator. Not only did it contain alcohol, but there were other herbal components as well, that gave it an extra kick. Not only that, it tasted good. It was a favorite of anyone who visited with Alex who always kept some chilled for himself and any guests he may entertain. In some ways, he supposed it was akin to Romulan Ale, except it was legal. One of his favorite things about it was that it would loosen peoples' tongues much better than just alcohol. It was one of the tools he had used to become a Fleet Admiral so quickly once he had entered their venerable ranks.

Alex brought the liqueur and two glasses with ice into the lounge and they both sat. He poured them both drinks then downed his, promptly refilling it and downing it again.

Komack had never seen him drink like that and was amazed. He just sat there with his eyes as wide as saucers and his mouth open while Alex downed a third drink and refilled his glass one more time before shaking his head and turning to him.

Alexander Marcus looked James Komack dead in the eye and said, "Jim, I don't get how in the hell you could forget this time in your own history. I guess that's why Human history has been so repetitive." He shrugged and shook his head, "since I'm not Human I suppose I could never understand your propensity to forget your own history. But it's since _you _forgot it's time for a little lesson.

"I don't know what the fucking xi want him for, but you drew a picture of one of the worst Humanity ever spawned. It all started with some misguided scientists 'fixing' the genes in Humans so that they would be perfect, The Chrysalis Project. For the small number of perfect children that they actually produced there were dozens of rejects. It was sick. When an infiltrator discovered what was actually happening inside the Chrysalis Project it was stopped and all the children were fostered out with normal parents hoping that they would lead normal lives. But the first perfect child, Khan Noonien Singh, and the other older children knew they were special and were problematic. Eventually Khan got them all together and began a Eugenics program of his own which spawned the Eugenics Wars."

Komack was confused. Why would the xi send him a picture of a person from several hundred years ago, he had to be dead?

Alex continued, "one of the scientists was able to infiltrate the program involving the newly developed cryogenics and deep space travel and when things got bad for Khan and his 'family' she was able to assist him in getting them into that sleeper ship and sent them into space. That ship could be just about anywhere in a general heading. They named it the Botany Bay."

Alex took another drink and let its warmth settle in his stomach before he finished, "if these squids need him I don't have a clue how to find him in the billions of cubic kilometers of space out there. It could take years!"

He looked at Komack and they both shrugged. Alex crooked the corner of his mouth in a wry smile, shook his head and poured them both another drink. They clinked glasses and downed them knowing that they had some serious work to do for their masters.

OoO

Pavel Chekov felt like he might burst at the seams before his shuttle landed in San Francisco. While he had been home he had been talking to his sister about Jim and Spock when he was hit with a "most exciting" idea for a gift for them. Between himself and his sister they had been able to complete it before he had to return and he couldn't wait to present it to them.

While he was at the baggage hub he extricated the gift from his suitcase and hailed an aircab. In his excitement the young genius forgot to call ahead to determine if they would be at their apartment when he arrived. Pavel didn't even think that it was odd that he had not gone home before going anywhere else; he had a goal to accomplish and nothing was going to get in his way! If they were not home he would wait, days if need be.

Luckily Jim answered the door when he rang. Another thing that Pavel didn't take into account when he rushed over was the hour, 0335. Jim had just gotten up to up to eat something when he heard the doorbell. He was glad that his mother had explained some things about being pregnant to him while they had been on the shuttle home. Things like the increase in appetite he had experienced. It amazed him that at such an early stage the babies were already making such physical demands on him. She had assured him it was because his body was also still undergoing changes to accommodate his current biological state and referred him to a couple of pieces of reading about being a pregnant s'treu.

So when the doorbell rang, Spock opened his eyes and was treated to the view of his mate's back as he stood and put on his robe. As he cinched said robe, Jim looked over his shoulder and said, "go back to sleep k'diwa, I've got it."

Jim checked the security feed and saw it was Chekov, bouncing on his toes with a huge smile on his face carrying a fancily wrapped box and towing a suitcase. He sighed and pulled his robe closer around himself. He made a valiant attempt to make his hair presentable but failed miserably, only succeeding in creating that spiked look. Opening the door he spoke as quietly as he could, "um, hi Pavel, what can I do for you at _3:30 in the morning_?" The last came out as a moan but he wanted to growl.

Pavel stopped bouncing and his smile dimmed slightly as he whispered, "I haf a geeft for you and Meester Spock. I made it special for you with zee help of my seester." He held out the package.

Well, what could Jim do then but invite him in after that? He would have much preferred to have told him to come back in six or seven hours then gone back to his bed and cuddled up next to his warm Vulcan. Because, it was a rare thing that once said Vulcan got up for the day that he would be willing to return to the warmth of the bed. Jim knew the odds were not in favor of his Vulcan sleeping through the upcoming encounter. So, Jim led Pavel into the living room in the hope that he could get him to rest for a while so he could go back to his Vulcan.

Spock heard Jim let someone into the apartment. Thinking that it had to be important if someone came calling at 0336 he got up, donned his robe and slippers and headed toward the living area. However, as soon as he turned the corner and saw Pavel with Jim he decided to get tea before he joined them.

He heard them discussing the box on the table as he walked from the kitchen to the living room. Evidently it contained a hand painted gift.

Jim was saying, "I get it Pavel, but Spock's… sleeping?" his speech petered out at the end because he could see Pavel watching something coming.

"I am here James," Spock said, knowing full well that Pavel had seen him coming and that Jim had not, nor had Jim heard him.

Jim spun around so fast he thought he was going to get whiplash, "sometimes I think I should put a bell on you. Quiet as a cat when you want to be. Well, get your butt in here and sit down. Pavel has a gift for us and you brought a pot of Vulcan Spice Tea. I swear if anyone else comes over in the middle of sleep time, they will be sitting with their backs to the rest of the apartment! You scared the living daylights out of me Spock!"

Spock cocked his head to the side and drew his eyebrows together in genuine confusion before he said, "I am unfamiliar with these 'living daylights', but we will have to find them and return them to you as soon as possible."

Jim and Pavel watched Spock as he revealed his unfamiliarity with human idioms once more and only because of the hour, Jim burst out laughing. "Sorry Spock, living daylights is one of those idioms and it goes back to boxing references from the nineteenth century. The daylights are your eyes and when you got knocked out you got the daylights beat out of you."

"Fascinating," Spock replied and Jim rolled his eyes.

Spock proceeded to insert himself on the sofa between Jim and Pavel. Jim rolled his eyes again with a slight shake of his head wondering if Spock would be like this for the duration of his pregnancy.

"_Yes k'diwa, I will be very protective of you while you are pregnant. It is instinctive to protect ones mate and children."_ Spock informed him through the bond.

Jim looked sidelong at him and returned in his mind voice, _"I love you too Ashaya."_

He then looked past Spock to Pavel and asked, "so, Pavel, what have we here?"

"Ah, open eet please Jeem, um Commander," Pavel said nervously as Spock reached for the box and began to methodically unwrap it starting with the untying the home made bow.

"Eet ees a tradeetational Russian geeft," Pavel said, waving at Spock to remove the gift from its box.

Spock's eyebrow rose as he was greeted by a caricature of himself painted on a wooden doll complete with his instructors' uniform and over-sized ears. While he was attempting to understand the purpose of the object by examining it, he was also listening to Jim and Pavel speak about it. He had turned the dolls and was staring at the ear when he raised an eyebrow and said, "my ears appear to be out of proportion to the rest of my head."

Jim chuckled and said, "well they are caricatures, and your head is out of proportion to the rest of your body. That's the nature of a caricature Spock."

Pavel nodded as he verbalized his agreement, "zat is correct Meester Spock. Even Jeem's ears are beeg." He was very animated as he spoke further of the gift, "my seester and I painted them to be you both and some prospective cheeldren. Open eet Meester Spock."

Spock had found the line that divided the top and bottom while he ran his fingers over the object which Pavel had called a 'Nesting Doll', so when he was told to open it he twisted the top which came off in his hand revealing a similarly painted caricature of Jim. His eyebrow, which had resumed its normal position on his face, once again climbed toward his bangs.

Jim started laughing and held out his hands to Spock who passed the inside doll to him, keeping the one that looked like himself, in his cadet uniform. Jim quickly took the remaining dolls apart and lined them up, his smile grew with each one: inside of his doll were four others made like children that were meant to be theirs. The first one had blue eyes and brown hair; next was blond hair and blue eyes; the third had brown hair and brown eyes; the fourth had blond hair and brown eyes. They each had pointed ears and had been painted as toddlers wearing pants, and there was no gender determination to any of them.

As Jim woke up more as he picked up the largest of the 'children' to admire the paint work. He noticed a small glyph painted in the same place where a Starfleet logo would go on a uniform. When he focused his sleepy eyes enough to see it clearly he was shocked to see that it was almost identical to the one he had seen T'Lena wearing in his vision. He put the doll down and picked up the next one to look for the mark; it was there.

The way he did that caught the attention of Spock and Pavel in time to see him put that one down. He was panicked as he picked up the other two to check them out. His eyes widened as they passed from one to the other, seeing the mark.

"Um… Uh… Pavel, um, how, where did you see that glyph?" Jim asked tentatively, looking at Pavel over the tops of the dolls.

Pavel thought Jim's eyes looked haunted and he didn't like it. "Zee gleeph? My seester painted zee gleephs Jeem. She does calligraphy. She has been vorking vith zee Vulcan language lately. She said zees one vas High Vulcan. I forget vat she told me eet means. Sorry." He shrugged.

Spock had seen the look on Jim's face when he saw the glyphs, so he picked up a doll and his eyebrows both raised in surprise when he saw it. He waited until Pavel was finished speaking and said, "this is a combination of two Vulcan glyphs that were used frequently in the pre-Surakian era. They translate as s'vohk meaning protect and fosh-tor meaning defend."

Spock could feel something niggling in the back of his mind, in that place where he kept the bond with Versat's clan so he closed his eyes and concentrated. He was not surprised when got a response which he passed along. He opened his eyes to find them both watching him. He felt his cheeks and ears warm as he flushed with embarrassment. If it had just been Jim it would have been no problem, however Pavel…

He cleared his throat in a very Human manner before he began, "in pre-reform society there was a society of warriors dedicated to the defense and protection of the upper echelon of the clans. That symbol was always worn on their uniforms. That society of warriors was formally called the Shila'es-ahn'vahr or the Society of the Double Edged Sword. I do not think that this configuration would be found in common calligraphy texts. I, too, am curious as to how your sister would know how to put the glyphs together like this." He looked at Pavel with a brow raised in curiosity.

Pavel checked his chrono and saw that it was nearly 0400 hours meaning that it would be close to 1500 hours in Saint Petersburgh. He got all excited and crowed, "I can comm my seester now!" He pulled out his personal communicator and began to babble in Russian.

Jim and Spock tuned him out and looked at each other. _"If he says she saw it in a dream I will scream!"_ Jim said into Spock's mind. The image that accompanied the thought was of a petulant Jim stomping his feet, hands balled into fists as he screamed his frustration to the universe at large.

Spock drew his brows together and pursed his lips in disapproval which caused Jim to snort. _"I would very much prefer that you do not."_ Spock replied, giving Jim a pointed look that caused Jim started to laugh out loud, which was cut off when Pavel snapped his communicator closed.

Pavel looked up from his communicator and noticed both of them staring at him and smiled meekly, color rising in his cheeks. He dropped his head so fast that his longer than regulation curls bounced, then looked up through his eyelashes as he relayed what his sister told him. "Ah, eet seems my seester ees a fan of Vulcan calligraphy, and has done much research eento eet. Liking zee vay zee language eez written she began to read zee stories and found a couple of books of pre-reform Vulcan warriors and romance to be favorites. Von story about zees 'sheelas-awhanfar' she peeked up because of the gleeph on zee cover; zat gleeph!"

Jim felt Spock's slight cringe as Pavel murdered his language, and placed a hand on his knee to keep him from saying anything. It was a good thing too, because Spock was just about to correct him. Instead he changed his ploy.

"Where did she come upon a book of pre-reform Vulcan on Earth?" Spock inquired, eyebrow raised.

Pavel perked up when he replied to that question, the answer was easy, "zee book vas on Vulcan, not Earth. Three years ago she vent zere on a treep vith her communications class zat vent to seex Federation planets, including Vulcan!"

"That explains a lot," Jim said, letting out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. When he did he relaxed and his body took over from there, trying desperately to put him back to sleep.

Spock could feel Jim suddenly struggling to stay awake beside him and said, "thank you for the gift Mr. Chekov. However, it is normal sleeping hours."

Chekov ducked his head and blushed bright red, as he stood up.

"Pav, don't be embarrassed," Jim mumbled, eye lids drooping, as he pushed himself up to walk him to the door, "you were excited. I know the feeling. The nesting dolls are really cool, but, I'm having a hard time staying awake, so I think it's time to go now. We'll talk more when I'm more awake. K?"

Chekov nodded and said, "okay Jeem." But he was remained as red as a cardinal.

As they reached the door Jim grabbed Pavel's shoulder to reassure him that all was alright and said, "good night."

Pavel replied, "good morning." He was still blushing but he had smiled as he closed the door behind himself as he left.

OoO

A/N: Please, please, please leave me a review! I know that a lot more people read than leave reviews, so if you wouldn't mind, just take another minute and let me know what you thought… please! :D


	27. Chapter 27 Three Months Later

Dear readers, I apologize for the delay. Sometimes life gets in the way of our more pleasurable pursuits. I hope you enjoy the chapter, it took 2 total rewrites.

Standard disclaimer: I make no money on this. Star Trek is owned by rich people and big studios.

Many thanks to my new beta Goldleaves.

Chapter 27 – Three Months Later

OoO

As soon as she discovered that she was to become a grandmother Amanda Grayson knew he needed to have a home on Earth that was close to San Francisco but not in the Vulcan Embassy, as she would not allow her future grandchildren to be subject to the levels of prejudices that Spock had, in his childhood and after that, been for not being fully Vulcan.

When she was finally able to speak with her husband. He had just returned to Vulcan and was 'satisfied' with the treaty he had worked out between the Tellarite's and the Barzan's which had been extremely delicate and had taken all of his skill. When he found out that they were going to be grandparents against all odds she could tell that she that he was over the moon, or as much as any Vulcan could be. She had expected an argument from Sarek, so she was pleasantly surprised when he had agreed with her that purchasing an estate on Earth was extremely logical.

Amanda had found one of the few small ranches that was still in existence and was lucky that it had been for sale. It was a large twenty second century ranch style house with two suites on opposite sides of the house. The middle of the house was divided with the kitchen and living room, along with the three bedrooms, with a formal dining room to the side. Another room, which she intended to be used as a library, was on the other side near the third bedroom. It could have been a forth bedroom but it had no closets, therefore prompting Amanda's decision to use it as a library. She thought that Jim might like to have a place to properly display those boxes of real books that had been his fathers.

She had given Spock a map so he and Jim could meet her there as soon as they were finished with their appointment with Doctor McCoy…

"They're peanuts Spock, look!" Jim exclaimed as he pointed to the picture of the small fetuses on the screen.

Spock extended his first two fingers to his mate in the ozh'esta touching the same fingers on Jim's hand. "I see two small fetuses, I do not see 'peanuts'," he replied with his characteristic 'not smile'.

Jim laughed, "I kind of meant size and shape Spock, you silly Vulcan."

McCoy shook his head at their banter and said, "Well your little ones seem a bit advanced for the ages. They are more like fourteen week rather than twelve week embryos but, even with that, you and they, are healthy as a damn horse. An oddly pregnant stallion, but a very healthy one."

McCoy frowned at Jim more intently for a moment longer than usual before he continued, "Now I have their genetic profiles for you and its damned odd. You would think since each of you are half Human the babies would be more Human than anything but they aren't. Vulcan DNA took preference at 40%, then Veenan DNA at 34%, with Human DNA at a measly 26%. No surprise then that their blood is copper based."

He shook his head and almost smiled at his friend, "Most women who have twins wish they could carry them as easily as you! And this is a tri-species pregnancy, one with blood based on copper rather than iron. If you were anyone else you would be on bed rest! You just keep doin' whatever you've been doin'. Now get the hell outa here and I'll see you back in next week."

Jim's head whipped up from its examination of his baby bump and he looked at McCoy with wide eyes and exclaimed, "two weeks! We were doing two weeks! What happened to two weeks?" His expression of study changed to a pout as he plead, "Please, two weeks?"

McCoy's frown deepened even further as he looked at his friend, "Jim, you are carrying twins with genes from three different species and now they appear to be developing more quickly than normal for any of those species and as your doctor I am God damned concerned!" In his ire his Georgia accent increased with every word the he spoke. "And I am your friend after all, so I'm _extra _concerned."

Jim ducked his head and murmured, "sorry Bones. You know how much I hate hospitals, and doctors in general."

McCoy's expression softened as he squeezed his friend's shoulder. "Look kid, you know I'm on your side." Jim met his gaze as he continued, "I want to monitor you to make sure everything is good throughout this pregnancy. Alright?" He smiled and gave Jim's shoulder another short squeeze and quickly let go as Spock's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Jim looked at his mate, "Spock, he has to touch me, he's my doctor."

"He does not have to touch you unless it is part of the examination," Spock countered looking at Jim with that same narrowed eyed look.

Jim was not intimidated by his mates look because in reality he liked his possessive Vulcan. He reached out his hand with a Vulcan kiss which Spock accepted.

Returning his attention to McCoy Jim nodded, "I know you want to make sure that everything is good Bones. I wouldn't trust anybody else. You know _that,_ don't you?"

McCoy nodded. "God help me, yes," he said, smile widening to a grin.

Armed with photographs of their developing three month old babes for Grandma, they headed to the diner where they had arranged to meet Amanda for lunch.

"Spock, I wonder what your mother has up her sleeve," Jim said as they were entering their air car outside of Starfleet Medical.

"I do not know Ashaya. However, she has been very excitable these past few weeks, which is uncharacteristic for her. She is normally quite reserved. I must admit to being puzzled by her behavior," Spock replied looking at Jim as they fastened their seat belts.

Jim laughed and shrugged. "Maybe I'm rubbing off on her," he said laughing harder as he felt Spock's disapproval as the Vulcan guided the car into traffic.

Spock repressed the very human urge to sigh and roll his eyes as he replied, "Let us hope not, my father would not want to be married to you."

Jim's eyes widened as he turned to look at Spock, "Good one!", his surprise causing him to sputter unexpectedly, which soon developed into a full belly laugh.

OoO

Admiral A. Marcus sat at his opulent desk in his equally opulent office on the top floor of the beautiful, yet not as opulent as he thought it should be for what it was, Starfleet Headquarters. And although the majority of his life was beyond satisfactory, it was not the life he wanted. Yes, in Starfleet he had gained more power than he would ever have had in the Veenan fleet, but he had envisioned becoming a leader of his own people, not a conglomerate in which Humans automatically sat at the top. In Starfleet he was a Fleet Admiral and was in charge of the covert Section 31. Admiral Komack had delivered the xi to him on a shining platter and he was not against using either or both if it would put himself and his people on top.

At that moment he had two large, rolling, smart boards next to his desk; on one was a set of complex navigational equations, next to it was the corresponding course on the interactive star map. He had found the dairies of Khan that had been saved when _SS Botany Bay_ had been invaded. All the augments having been blasted into space when the troops finally arrived.

The diaries themselves had been difficult to read. They had been scrawled in an almost unreadable script which vacillated from old Earth English to Khan's native Indian. Then there was the addition difficulty of the diary itself, which had been falling apart from age and had needed to be treated accordingly. Once he had interpreted the words he had needed to sift through them very carefully to determine the general vector toward which Khan had aimed the ship.

Khan had kept much of the information vague. However, one thing that had not been vague was his adamant belief in the legends of the Annunaki. Khan believed that the Annunaki were the ancestors of the Human race and that they would welcome the next generation of Humans with opened arms.

Marcus had finally calculated the most likely trajectories out of hundreds of possibilities and distances that a pre-warp ship could have traveled in three hundred years. It had been quite a feat narrowing it down to the four most likely areas that _SS Botany Bay _would be located. Hopefully, it would not be too difficult to find in the vastness of space.

The buzz of his comm and the voice of his Executive Assistant broke him from his thoughts. "Admiral Marcus, your 1300 appointment is here," she said.

"Send him in Ginger. Thank you," Marcus replied.

The door to his office opened and a man with steel gray hair and striking blue eyes entered. Captain Erik Pressman of the _USS Pegasus_ was a proud man: he was proud of his ship and his crew, but mostly he was proud of himself and it was that self-pride that had been his downfall. Komack had snagged him with promises of grandeur when the xi were finally in control. So he had wound up with a xi bug in his head. Marcus shuddered inwardly at the thought of how those squids controlled people, happy that he was able to bypass that step by convincing them he would help them voluntarily.

Marcus, however, had his own agenda. And as soon as he was finally able to ignite the war which would destroy the Klingon Empire, he would remove all of the xi puppets once and for all. Then, once the Klingon's were dealt with he would go to the xi home world and smash it into atoms for having the audacity to try to take over his Federation. And the best thing in his mind was, he would ensure they never saw it coming.

When Pressman had received the summons from Admiral Marcus his blood ran cold. Receipt of a summons from that high up usually meant bad news, and he knew that any summons to Marcus meant that it was on section 31 business, which was the worst of all. He had crumpled the sheet it was on and thrown it against the wall. After he had been forced into this 'business' it hadn't taken long for him to realize that he hated all the underhanded, black ops, section 31 business he had been forced to take part in.

Nothing had gone his way since his once Captain, now Admiral, a man named James Komack, found out about his father's early career as a smuggler. It had been a short career that had stopped when he had met his future wife, but it was enough of a dirty background that the family had gone to great lengths to bury it for everyone's sake. Once Komack had found out about it, he had been vicious. He had threatened to make the information public if he didn't do exactly what he had wanted. Then, one day, Komack called Pressman into his office and put the xi parasite into his head to go even farther to ensure his cooperation and that was the first time he met Admiral Marcus in person. Soon after he became a section 31 agent.

Pressman snapped to attention as soon as he entered Marcus' office and offered him a smart salute which Marcus acknowledged before bringing him in and up to the two boards he had set up.

"You may be able to tell that what I am doing here is trying to locate something in space. It happens to be a ship launched from Earth into deep space in 1996." Marcus was watching him while he spoke and could see him calculating exactly what ship could have been launched in. There had been only one space-faring ship at the end of the Eugenics Wars.

Pressman's eyes got big as the realization hit him what ship he meant and Marcus smiled. He felt his knees weakening so he locked them. Last thing he wanted to do was to fall to the floor in front of the man in front of him.

With a wry smile Marcus said, "Komack said you were a history buff and would pick up on it right away. We are indeed looking for the _SS Botany Bay_."

"Your mission," Marcus continued, "is highly sensitive and you are to mention it to no one. You are to take the _Pegasus_ to the coordinates I have determined and begin your search. I have several vectors for you to search and you will hopefully find the ship along one of them." While he was speaking Marcus was pointing to an interactive star map that zoomed to the vectors in question.

He turned and fixed Pressman with an icy gaze as he continued, "When you _do_ find the _Botany Bay_ you will find eighty three frozen individuals inside. You are to offload the cryo-tubes inside and bring them back to Earth _unopened._Am I understood?!" Marcus ordered.

Pressman nodded crisply, the knot that had been forming in his stomach since he had left his apartment that morning turning into solid ice. "Yes sir!" he said with a salute.

"Excellent! Your crew has been recalled from shore leave and you will leave at 0800 day after tomorrow. God speed." Marcus said. "Dismissed," he added with a nod.

All the good Captain could think as he left were the words 'God speed' were not the correct ones for that mission; God was not involved at all in this endeavor. He quickly went to the closest rest room and emptied his stomach of its contents.

OoO

When Monty was right about a theory he was right about a theory, even if his stupid hard headed, ancient Advanced Theories of Relativistic Physics Professor, Commodore Bradburn told him his theory was impossible. It was an argument that had been going on for several semesters and now that he was in Bradburn's advanced theoretical class they could put more into it.

Commodore J'huna Brad'tnb'urnsez which he shortened to Bradburn for ease of the human tongue, was one of the few Neophornen in Starfleet and the only one teaching at the academy. During his first class with Bradburn Monty had given him the unfortunate name of Professor Haggis Head. Which as it turned out was a very xenophobic remark, or at least meant to insult his species because a Neophornen head very closely resembled the Scottish sausage. Fortunately for Monty he had never muttered those words to anyone, not even when he was intoxicated, which was often.

That was until Monty had a really good mad going one afternoon in class when his level of frustration had met an all-time high. Bradburn insisted that in order to beam something there needed to be a line of sight, be it extremely distant or not. Monty insisted that you would be able to beam, trans-warp to anywhere, even a distant planet, not just the other side of the planet.

Bradburn said, "Cadet Ssscott, that issss impossssible."

Monty turned bright red and snapped, and lost his brain to mouth filter, "If ye got yer damned haggis head out o' the sand ye might be able te understand somethin' new!"

Some gasped while others sniggers, while others were totally blank, at that pronouncement.

Bradburn turned said head sideways so he could examine Scott with three of his four eyes and inquired, "What, isss haggissss?"

When he said that Monty realized his error and turned white as a sheet as it dawned on him that he would have to answer the question. For a moment he gaped thinking how he could have let that come out of his mouth.

His first reaction was to hit himself in the head with the palm of his hand, hard enough that it left a mark. The second was to turn as red as the mark before he mumbled, "Um, it's, ah, um, a sausage of sorts, um sir." He was looking at the floor by the time he finished the sentence.

As Bradburn came to understand what Monty was implying the Neophornen became angry, transforming his head. What had looked a pasty grey skin became pasty bluish purple as it suffused with blue blood. Flaps of skin behind the side eyes lifted out as they filled with blood as did the crest on top his head which was normally folded which gave his head its lumpy appearance. Angry an Neophornen was truly scary in appearance.

Monty looked up and felt the cold of fear grip him when he met Bradburn's eyes. He swallowed but said nothing.

There was significantly less sibilance in his voice and the volume had increased when he, "that wass uncalled for Cadet! You," he pointed directly at him, "will go directly to the transporter sssimulation lab and work on this sso called 'theory' of yoursss until the end of the ssemester or until you prove it."

Which was how Montgomery Scott found himself working in the transporter simulation lab all day one fateful Sunday afternoon.

He had been working day and night on his project and was getting close. Monty had found it easy to transport things around the curve of the planet to invisible sights, as long as he had access to a receiving pad.

He had just successfully transported a grapefruit from San Francisco to simulated Mars when a male beagle wandered in. There had been a bit of scratching at the door but he had _really_ not paid any mind to it since he had been deep into his experiment. Monty then placed a mouse in a carrier on the pad and began entering calculations on the computer. So, he did not notice when the dog entered and had hopped up on the pad to sniff the caged animal, when he slid the controls to energize. He had only realized that there was a beagle on the pad as he watched it dissolve into atoms and disappear. There was only one problem, it did not reappear on the other pad. Monty had programmed his farthest distance yet. He had programmed the computer to send the mouse to Vulcan. Except the extra mass of the dog had altered the course slightly to Delta Vega. Monty stood there waiting, staring at the receiving pad, praying for the mouse and the dog to reappear, but nothing happened with the exception of security eventually coming in to get him or the dog.

No one knew what had happened to the dog or the mouse. Cadet Scott was arrested and taken into custody in the 'Case of the Kidnapping of the Championship Dog.' In actuality the extra mass of the dog threw the destination off significantly and caused the animals to be transported to the actual destination, Delta Vega. However, they would not arrive for close to a year.

Admiral Archer had brought his latest champion show dog to the academy grounds to show him off to several of his colleagues. It had been Sunday afternoon, believing that on a Sunday afternoon there was no trouble the beagle could get into. Archer thought Duncan was asleep at his feet, but the dog was carefully working on removing his too large collar. Age worked against Archer in that moment because the dog was so quiet he forgot that he was there until he moved to leave and found no dog at the end of the leash.

Once the nuisance of the collar was removed Duncan made his way out of the building and slowly wandered around campus until he fatefully wandered into Cadet Scott's lab.

Archer seemed to have forgotten just how precocious Duncan was. He had been the leader of the pack since the birth of the puppies. Kirk had named that batch after characters from Macbeth and Duncan certainly was a Kingly young dog.

OoO

Spock entered the highway on the level meant strictly for travel beyond the cities and it was still heavily congested despite the time. It seemed that no matter how many highways were built, the infrastructure was not great enough for the demand.

Jim said, "You know, no matter how many improvements they seem to make to the highway infrastructure they never seem to be able to keep up with demand, and it's a good thing we don't have to use the Bay Bridge! Both that and the Golden Gate Bridge need to be modernized, but _no!_ They are icons and the powers that be need them to be icons of the area. What bullshit!"

Jim could see Spock raise his eyebrow nearest to him during his tirade. Then, without taking his eyes off the road, he placated Jim by agreeing with him, "Indeed, it does appear to be the case." There was a slight pause before he continued on a new subject, one he knew Jim didn't want to think about. "Did you review the parameters of the mission that Captain Pike proposed for me?" As soon as he asked the question he felt Jim's fear spike.

Doing his best to control his voice Jim replied, "Yes, and besides the fact that I don't want to be separated from you, I don't like the idea of you going that far away that if anything happened to delay you that you could miss the birth. I don't want the physical separation to last that long." He sighed, glad his voice hadn't shaken, much.

The mission was right up Spock's ally: Three M class planets had been discovered in the Beta hydra system . The planet closest to the sun had appeared desert like on the long range sensors of the passing ship. The middle planet had appeared cooler with more water and had the potential to be Earth like. While the third planet had appeared more barren but had shown dilithium signatures, so it had been slated to be explored by miners. As a Vulcan, Spock had been assigned to the team to be sent to the desert like planet to determine its suitability as a potential colony sight for other members of his race.

"We both knew this type of mission could be assigned to either of us at any time. Even though we are bondmates we can be physically separated for short periods of time without undo stress. Although the fact that you are pregnant does add extra stress to the situation. However, my parents were separated for short periods while she carried Me." Spock said in an effort to placate his mate. "And," he stressed, "It was a request for me to go, not an order."

Knowing Spock's mind as well as he did Jim replied, "Yeah, it _was_ a request, but I know you and I know you will go because your presence was requested and your curiosity won't let you stay here. Besides, if you did stay you would always wonder what it would have been like if you had gone."

"You also are aware how certain members of the admiralty would view the situation if I declined?"

Jim looked at him and Spock glanced his way quickly raising a brow in question. "Emotional compromise," Jim replied dropping his eyes to his hands.

For the next fifteen minutes of the ride it was silent in the aircar as Jim contemplated Spock going away for several months. Then, to change the subject to something more pleasant Jim asked, "So, Ashaya, where are we going?"

"It appears my mother has something for us to see. She has given me explicit directions to follow. She was uncommonly secretive about the reason for this trip, however, she was also uncommonly excited." Spock said.

Jim's initial reply was "Hmph". However, after several seconds he brought up a new point. "Hey, you know your mom has been meeting with a lot of diplomats recently. I wonder if this has anything to do with that?"

"Why would my mother resort to deception?" Spock asked, looking truly confused.

Jim had to ask, "Spock have you ever had a surprise birthday party?" Even as he said it Jim knew the answer Spock was going to give.

"Negative. Vulcan's do not have birthday parties."

Jim shook his head. "That explains it," he said.

"Please elucidate." Spock was drawing blanks.

"Maybe Amanda is planning some kind of surprise for us Spock. All the meetings were subterfuge to try to keep us off the beaten path." Jim said starting to get excited about what might be happening. He had fallen in love with Amanda and in the short time he had known her, in some ways felt as close to her as he did to his own mother.

"So, tell me what, is the endpoint of this map?" Jim inquired.

"Six point three kilometers outside of Brentwood on Route 4," was Spock's reply.

"Hmm, that's all forest and farms. And Brentwood itself is all hydroponically produced vegetable factories."

After the Eugenics Wars and World War III where much of the land of the Earth had been burned by weapons of mass destruction, the people of the world united and many things began to be done differently including growing fruits and vegetables. They had to in order to feed everyone. Hydroponics and the concept of sharing were adopted and starvation had been, for the most part, eliminated. Hemp was no longer illegal and its many uses became apparent beyond getting people high and relieving pain. Trees were no longer used for paper; hemp paper was just as high a quality. Cotton was reserved for the very rich and most clothing was made from hemp cloth. Therefore, forests were, allowed to grow back prosperous once more. One fruit was found that would not grow well hydroponically and that was grapes specifically grown for wine. Therefore the wine growing regions of the world that remained healthy land, such as, the Napa Valley, Sonoma and a few other spots remained places of Vineyards.

Amanda had been lucky to find a place that had not gone back to forest and was still a working property; a 7.6 acre horse ranch.

In addition to the house there was a six stall barn and four fenced pasture areas for grazing rotation. The barn stalls were large and appeared to be safe and comfortable. At one end of the barn was a tack stall and a feed room. And on the top of everything was space for a large amount of storage for fodder and/or bedding.

With all the fun that she had enjoyed growing up around horses she would make sure her grandchildren had their opportunity to try them as well.

As Jim and Spock passed the last of the factory hydroponic farms they came to the harbor at the very edge of Brentwood. Jim couldn't help but ogle when they passed the yachts. Spock shared his fascination with the personal cruise ships. For the remainder of the trip Jim imagined himself sailing the oceans of Earth rather than the deep of The Black.

When Spock turned Jim's interest was returned to the present. They drove down a wide, smooth driveway passing through tall Arbor vitae with entwined branches creating a wall of evergreen and brown, on both sides for two hundred twenty three feet when it opened up to the vista of the ranch.

Around the house Jim could see dust cloud puffing into the air and called that to Spock's attention as he parked the car. "Hey Spock, there's some kind of activity over there."

They got out of the car and walked between the house and the barn and were met with the sight of Amanda on horseback spinning in place.

"Holy shit," Jim said as his mouth dropped open in amazement, catching the dust.

"I concur, however, it is fascinating to watch," Spock replied as Amanda came out of the spin. She noticed them, and galloped toward them and, at what they thought was way to close slid to a stop raising a big cloud of dust behind her.

Jim backed up so fast he tripped over his own feet and landed on his butt much to his chagrin.

Spock turned when he saw Jim move and caught him by the shoulders just as his butt hit the ground.

Amanda jogged over the remaining forty feet to the fence trying not to laugh at the scene in front of her. She thought that Jim was adorable with his eyes the size of saucers at the moment before she asked the horse to drive his hind end down to stop. She learned as a child the fun of surprising people with a slide stop.

Spock was immediately at Jim's side assisting him to his feet. At the same time he gave his mother a narrow eyed look and said, "Mother, was that necessary?"

To which Amanda snorted as she stepped off her horse, patting her on her neck. "Jim, sorry about scaring you." She giggled as she held the bridle and hugged the buckskin tobiano mare. "But, riding makes me feel like a kid again and I love it! I think you might understand."

Jim walked over to the fence dusting off his butt while he did and said, with a huge smile on his face, "Oh yeah, I do; give me a motorbike and I feel the same way. What was that you were doing anyway?"

"Well this," she patted the mare's neck, "is 'Belle Holly Dun' or Holly. She is a four year old American Paint Horse trained in the sport of reining. I was putting her through some of her paces. All the moves are called what they look like: so what I was doing when you first saw me is called a spin, then I did a slide stop. It's all a matter of how you use your weight, feet and reins in subtle combination."

"Well I think that was the coolest thing I've seen someone do on a horse!" Jim crowed. "I've been to rodeos in Iowa and I've ridden some, but nothing fancy."

"My Mother is much more complicated than she first appears, would you not agree Ashaya?" Spock asked Jim offering him his fingers in a Vulcan kiss and standing closer to him radiating smugness.

"I may have grown up in Canada but as a kid I rode American Paint Horses," she began her story. "I competed in everything from Western pleasure to reining to barrel racing to jumping. I loved the fast stuff the best, and the more complicated the better. That's why I liked reining. Barrel racing was just too simple. If I had really gotten into riding English I probably would have been into jumping high because dressage would have been too slow for my taste. But maybe its complicatedness would have appealed enough to keep my interest." She shrugged.

"Mother, would you give us a demonstration of reining?" Spock asked with a raised brow.

Jim followed that with a "Please?" He gave Spock a look which was barely acknowledged.

In a one fluid movement Amanda put her foot into the stirrup and swung her leg over the back of her mare. She jogged into the middle of the ring where she stopped and nodded to them. She then took off in a slow lope in a small circle. At the middle of the ring the mare changed leads and took off faster into a larger circle in the other direction. At the center she changed leads and continued in a large fast circle in the direction of the first circle. Instead of changing leads she slowed down into a slow circle in the same direction and then stopped in the center. Just stopped from a lope to a dead stop, no slide it wasn't a fast enough lope. She stood there for several seconds looking like she was settling herself when she began to spin to the right, fast. What they had caught when they came in had only been the tail end because she did it two and a half times coming to a stop again dead center, looking in the opposite direction. Then they did it again, only this time to the left, again it was two and one half spins which left them facing the original direction.

Just when Jim thought Amanda was finished she took off at a dead gallop picking up speed as she went along. She galloped around the ring to where Jim and Spock where and turned right and galloped along the rail until she was at the center line at the other end and turned toward them again at a full gallop. At close to the center she started to slide with dust surrounding them.

Jim didn't jump back that time. He was grinning from ear to ear.

Cutting right to the chase Spock asked, "Mother, why did you call us out here?"

"I bought this farm guys, for all of us." Amanda dismounted Holly and began to lead her out of the ring toward the barn. "When you told me that I was going to be a grandmother I decided I wanted something better on here on Earth than the Vulcan Embassy. I talked to Sarek and he agreed that a permanent home on Earth was logical in this case."

"But what of the Council?" Spock inquired head canted to the right in curiosity.

"I will miss very few of them Spock. IDIC is a concept only to most Vulcan's, as you well know." Spock nodded as his mother continued on a bit of a tirade, extremely unusual behavior for her, "with the exception of T'Pau and T'Pay, the _Council_ can go stuff itself! You two and your children; our family, that is what is important."

"Hmph, my Mom and I just had a similar discussion about the reaction of our fellow Veenan's to my being pregnant with non-Veenan kids. You know, like the Vulcan concept of IDIC, Veenan's espouse that all sentient beings are brothers and sisters because we are all Star Stuff. But don't have children with one of them!" Jim said in agreement with Amanda. Twining his fingers with Spock's their mutual distaste for bullies bounced back and forth along the bond for a moment.

Spock then voiced his thoughts, "I am grateful that you are taking this opportunity to stay here on Earth to assist us with the children Mother. We will want to have them with us whenever possible, but when it is not possible it will give us both a peace of mind to know they are safe with you."

During this discussion they had arrived at the barn and exchanged Hollies bridle for a halter, removed her saddle and took her back outside where Amanda gave her a quick wash to remove the sweat before hooking her to a walker and beginning to walk toward the house.

Amanda stopped and looked at her son. She was very wet from bathing the horse. She put one hand on each side of his face, pulled his head down, looked up so she could see directly into his eyes and said, "Now that I'm a little older I've come to realize that work is work but it is only work, however you have only one family it is the most precious thing in the Universe." Then she stood on her toes and kissed him on the nose before releasing him.

A/N: Please take a moment and leave me your thoughts. Thanks for reading!


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